Finding Steve
by mel-dickinson
Summary: Chris and Claire set out to find Steve's body that was taken by Wesker to somewhere in South America. Can the siblings find him before it's too late? And even if they do find him, is there a cure for the virus running though his veins? Rated M for Lemon
1. The Plan

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Post Code: Veronica. I couldn't bear the thought of Steve being dead so I wrote my version of what it was like afterwards for him and Claire. Also, the POV jumps around a lot between Claire, Chris, Steve, and I think Wesker once or twice.

**Finding Steve : Chapter 1**

…_..Alexia wants to test me, see if I'll obey her orders. Claire, she wants me to kill you!"_

_Steve, no! You have to fight her……._

………_.I'm glad that I met you ... I... I love you... Claire..._

_Steve!..._

Claire suddenly woke from an unpleasant sleep breathing heavily with sweat soaking her back. Her face itched from tears dried onto her cheeks. The morning sunlight leaked through the seams of her tent. _Just another nightmare_, she told herself and lied back down on the creaky cot. But it wasn't just another nightmare. Not even weeks prior it had been her reality. She and Steve Burnside had escaped from Rockfort Island only to get themselves into more trouble. Steve was injected with the T-Veronica virus by Alexia Ashford and mutated into a wild monster. Claire felt her heart begin to crack as she and her brother Chris helplessly watch the virus take him over.

"There's nothing you can do," Chris told her. "The virus is in control now. That's no longer Steve."

Claire knew that Steve would be able to fight it. They had made it through Alfred's insane traps with only a few close calls. If she had found anyone else, she didn't think she would have survived. There was something about him that made her smile while his back turned. Maybe it was his terrible sense of humor, his reckless behavior. Or maybe his charm. Even from the beginning, she felt a connection to him. They were meant to escape together.

"Go on without me," Steve said in short breaths. "I'll be fine."

"I'm not leaving you," Claire ran her hand over his bloody face. "I'm not leaving without you."

"Sis, we need to go. We need to stop Alexia." Chris said as calmly as he could.

"Yeah, Claire," Steve smiled. "Listen to your big brother. He always knows best."

"Claire, he'll be fine. We'll come back for him, but for now we need to stop Alexia."

Claire stared into Steve's grey eyes with tears swelling in her own. He smiled his boyish smile at her for what she felt was the last time. She gently laced her arms around his mangled body, holding him close to her for the few last moments they had left together.

"I'm glad that I met you….." he whispered soundlessly into her ear. "I…I love you… Claire…"

She felt his body go limp in her arms. "Steve," she said pulling herself out of his empty embrace. "Steve!"

Chris pulled his hysterical sister off the boy's body. "We need to go. He would have wanted us to stop her. There isn't much more time."

Steve would have wanted us to stop her. She needed to stop Alexia for Steve, to stop anyone else from getting hurt by the virus. She pulled herself together as best as she could on the outside but on the inside she was screaming as she drowned in a pool of emotions. She was upset and hurt. Angry at Umbrella, angry at the Ashfords. Even angry at Chris from letting her leave Steve behind. Angry at Steve for leaving her alone. But she did have some hope in the back of her mind that STARS would be able to revive him. There had been reports of people being infected and surviving. It was possible. That hope of Steve returning into her life was just enough to keep her going. They had to stop Alexia.

Claire groaned in frustration as she pulled herself out of bed. She needed to stop thinking about him or she was going to make herself sick. She slipped into her vest and boots, buckled her holster to her belt, and pulled her auburn hair back into her usual ponytail. She emerged from her tent into the dusty morning air to find two of the four remaining STARS members sitting around the fire. Chris and Jill were no where to be seen.

"Good morning," Rebecca Chambers said happily as she passed Claire a tin mug. "Coffee?" Claire nodded. She hated staying at this camp with her brother and the remaining members STARS. She felt so isolated from the world as if she was a refugee in hiding.

"It may be a little lumpy, but it's fine," Rebecca said as he poured Claire's coffee. Claire grimaced as a think clump of only God knows what fell from the coffee pot.

"So we think we know where they're keeping your Steve friend's body," said Barry Burton as he stirred a pathetic bowl of oatmeal. The blood drained from Clarie's face. "A man by the name of Albert Wesker has him. You ever heard of him?" She knew of Wesker but very little. From what she heard from Chris, he used to be a caption of STARS until he betrayed them.

"I know of him," Claire sipped her lumpy coffee. "Where do you think they have Steve's…body? And why do you think Wesker has it?" She wouldn't believe he was dead even though she felt his lifeless arms around her.

"Because Wesker was the only human left alive in Antarctica with us," Chris emerged from behind his tent with a pile of firewood in his arms. "We think Wesker is holding the body in one of Umbrella's old facilities."

"Why would Wesker want him and why an Umbrella facility? I thought they were all destroyed after the Raccoon City innocent?"

"Because that man seems to have a strange fetish of the place." Barry mumbled under his breath. Rebecca slapped his leg.

"Wesker has a tendency of keeping things alive longer than they should, such as Umbrella and himself, "Chris threw a few more logs on the fire. "We think Wesker because he managed to escape the Spencer Mansion without a scratch. I wouldn't be surprised if he did the same from Antarctica. He probably wants the body so he can try and extract the virus from it." Claire hated how they referred to Steve's body as "it". He was once a human being, just like them. Steve deserved some respect, he saved her life after all.

"Well do we know which facility?" Rebecca asked. "Do you think Leon could track him down like he did Claire? Or maybe Jill knows something about him."

"Already on it," Barry said before eating a spoonful of oatmeal. "That pretty boy found him no problem, and he would have to track down Jill for us to get any information out of her."

A faint wind of relief swept over Claire. Leon would save the day again. She began to wonder how he was doing. They hadn't spoken since Raccoon City.

"Leon thinks Wesker is somewhere in South America," Chris said softly to his sister, hoping she wouldn't get too wound up by the news. "But it's just a hunch. He could be anywhere. He's no longer the man I once knew."

"We'll we need to go find him," Claire said excitedly. "Where ever Wesker is, that's where Steve is." Claire felt her heart begin to lighten. She could have Steve back in her arms sooner than she first thought.

"It's not like South America is right next door," Barry said. "It will take at least a week to get everything together, and the others aren't up for a voyage across the Atlantic."

"That why you and Rebecca are going to stay here in Europe and see if you can find anything of Umbrella's remains lying around here while Claire and I head down south." Chris felt himself smile as he watched his sister's face light up. It was unusual to think that Claire was this excited about finding just his body. He wondered how she would react if she found him alive, but Chris kept the thought of Steve being alive to himself.

Chris and Claire spent the rest of the day packing for their trip. Claire found it hard to contain her excitement, even if she might just find the lifeless body of the boy who loved her, or even if they didn't find anything at all. Just the idea of searching for him made the ache in her heart disappear, even if only for a little while. She even felt as if she was falling for him.

That night, soon after Claire returned to her tent for the night, Chris pulled out a small laptop computer from his pack and quickly messaged Leon.

_Leon, _

_Claire and I are headed for South America in the morning. If you have any more information on Wesker's location, please let me know. I'm afraid that Claire is putting too much faith in the little hunch we have. You know how she is, her emotions can get the best of her. I'm worried about her. I didn't know she cared for Steve as much as she does. As for my current location, I'm in the outskirts of France with the remaining members of STARS. That's all I can tell you, but hopefully we'll talk soon. Take it easy._

_Chris_

Claire couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned in her noisy bed and threw the thin blanket off her. She was burning up even in the chilly European air.

"I'll find you, Steve," she whispered into night hoping that somewhere he could hear her.

On the other side of the Atlantic, a man with pale hair and skin wiped drops of sweat from his brow. He had only been on the equator for a few days but he could feel the heat creeping through his skin and into his brain. He couldn't stay here much longer. He pushed his sunglasses back on his face shielding the blinding sun, with his back to the managed boy lying on the ground.

Wesker smiled as he listened the boy struggle behind him.

"You son of a bitch! You can't keep me hear for ever!"

"On the contrary, yes I can," Wesker laughed. "No one other than me knows you're alive. So no one is going to come looking for you."

_Claire, where are you?_ Steve pleaded in his mind. All he longed for was to see her face one more time, hold her in his arms and kiss her for as long as he possibly could. He had no one left in this world other than her. She was all he had left.

"You are the key to a new millennium. With just a few drops of your blood, I can begin my transformation of the world."

"You've already got my blood, so let me go!" Steve tried pushing himself out of the dirt, but he was far too weak to move. At least once a day, Wesker injected the virus back into Steve causing him to transform and making sure that he couldn't grow immune to the virus, let alone fight it. But even when Steve was transformed into a wild beast three times the size of Wesker, the man still held an unusual power over the boy. Steve was helpless against Wesker.

"I could easily kill you and stop all your pain," Wesker laughed again, "but that would be far too easy. And even if I do let you go, I will have total control over you until the virus is entirely out of you, and we both know that is never going to happen." Wesker pulled a syringe from his pocket.

"No…" Steve said helplessly as he pulled himself into a fetal position. "No more."

"It's wonderful to think that you're terrified of yourself, since this was once your blood after all," Wesker inched the needle towards Steve's neck. "You're not going anywhere."

Steve's whole body began to shuttered as the virus took over. Wesker laughed as the beast emerged from the depths of the boy's thin body. With every dosage, Steve gained less and less control of the virus. He could feel his soul beginning to wither away.

_Claire, please…._ His thoughts cried out to her before the virus consumed his mind.

**Read and Review, please. Be on the look out for Chapter 2 :)**


	2. An Old Friend

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Finding Steve : Chapter 2**

_Why South America?_ Chris pondered over breakfast the next day. Leon had messaged him back early that morning saying something about a man by the name of Javier living in the jungle and that he was a drug lord, but other than that, his methods were unknown. What Wesker wanted with a drug lord was beyond Chris.

"All ready?" Claire asked pulling the straps of her pack. It was nice to see her smiling again having to listen to her cry herself to sleep the last couple of nights. Chris smiled. "Nearly ready. I just need to talk to Barry for a sec. Rebecca, can you help Claire load up the truck?"

When he knew that Claire was out of hearing range, he took a seat next to Barry. "While I'm gone, I want to you see if you can find anything else on Wesker. I told Leon to let me know but if you hear anything --- "

"I've got you covered, Chris," Barry interrupted. "Just be careful. Wesker isn't the same man he used to be. Take care of yourself and Claire for me."

Chris took Barry's hand and pulled him into a quick embrace. "You take care of yourself too. I don't want to come back to an empty camp."

After Chris said a quick goodbye to Rebecca he climbed into the driver's seat.

"You sure you want to do this?" Chris asked as he threw his pack into the backseat of the truck.

"Yes. We need to find Steve, dead or alive." Claire said from the passenger's seat.

Hopefully alive, Chris thought. He couldn't bear to see his sister's heart broken again, even if she was the one who wanted to find the body.

Chris and Claire drove silently through the outskirts of Europe. Everything was so beautiful here. So old, yet so refreshing. She had always wanted to travel across Europe. Too bad she couldn't enjoy it. She looked over at Chris. His eyes grew heavy as he drove, but they treaded on. This trip reminded her of the old times when they didn't have to worry about zombies or mutated animals, let alone mutated humans. Months ago, all she would have wanted to do was find Chris and go home. But now all she wanted to do was find Steve.

"I managed to get us a helicopter," Chris said pulling off of a dirt road and onto a paved street. "So once we reach Paris, we'll be on our way." They reached Paris in about an hour, both with Steve on their minds. Even if it was irrational, Claire still hoped to find an alive and breathing Steve, and Chris hoped he was still alive for Claire's sake.

They reached the helicopter to be greeted by Jill Valentine.

"Well, well, well. Look who is it," Jill said with a smile.

"You're our escort?" Chris asked bewildered. He hadn't seen Jill since there last mission together.

"I couldn't let you have all the adventure for yourself," she turned her smile to Claire. "I'm Jill Valentine, by the way. You must be Claire."

"I know who you are," Claire smiled taking Jill's hand. "You're the girl my brother is constantly mumbling about in his sleep."

"That's enough, sis," Chris blushed before focusing his attention back to the task ahead. "Do you're pilot know where we're headed?"

"Yeah it's a bit north of Brasília, in a small village in the jungle. We'll be landing in a field near the main road," Jill answered. "Where are Barry and Rebecca?"

"They were wondering the same thing about you," Chris said throwing their packs onto the copter. "They're in Europe, but I don't think they're going to stay there much longer."

"Well I'll have to catch up with them some other time; but for now, we need to get you two to South America."

Although Chris was hoping for some more time to chat with Jill, they all quickly boarded and helicopter and took off.

Claire felt a strange unsettlement in her stomach, but she couldn't decide if it was motion sickness or nerves. Like Europe, she had always wanted the chance to tour South America. It was such an ancient land full of so many mysteries. No wonder Wesker brought Steve here. During the flight, Jill and Chris talked small talk, and Claire stared out the window. She could feel that they were getting closer to him, and that her faint hope of him being alive was growing stronger.

Before she knew it they we're landing in the middle of an open field. Dust swallowed them whole as well as the excruciating heat.

The pilot turned around in the cockpit and directed Chris, "There's a village not far up the road. You should find some of Umbrella's cover-ups there. Javier's mansion is hidden in the jungle, but that should probably be your last place to look."

"Thanks," Chris helped Claire from the copter. "Will you be joining us?" He asked Jill.

"No, I've got things to do," Jill protested. "But I promise we'll catch up sometime soon." She softly added in Chris' ear during their embrace.

"Be careful," Jill yelled from the helicopter as it ascended into the air.

"I can see why you like her," Claire smiled as they made their way to the village.

"Shut up," Chris grabbed the back of Claire's vest and pulled it over her head.

There was word that were two Americas in the village, but Wesker chose to ignore the threat. It was probably just some travelers, and besides no one could possibly know where we was or that he had Steve alive, but just barely. He planned to kill the boy soon enough. He had already gotten the virus out of him. Now he just had to find this Javier. Apparently his daughter is in desperate need for the virus.

Wesker and Steve were hidden in a cave no too far from Javier's mansion. There was a passage near by that led to Umbrella's old facility where Wesker was gathering supplies and studying the virus that pumped through Steve's body. Steve spent most of his time sitting motionless up against a concrete slap, or shouting every insult he could think of towards Wesker. He hated this man almost as much as he hated Umbrella. This man was trying all he could to bring Umbrella up from the ashes, but Steve wouldn't have it. He had to fight the virus, which only a week ago seemed utterly impossible. But there was word that there were two Americas in the village down the road. A man and woman. The little spark of hope that it was Claire made him fight the virus the best he could. Wesker may be able to control his body and his mind, but his emotions and what was in his heart were his own. He just had to make sure to let his emotions got the best of him.

After spending the night outside of the village and near the edge of the forest, Claire and Chris decided to gather a few supplies from the village before heading deeper in the jungle up a windy path to Javier's mansion.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Claire asked wiped sweat from her brow. The sun was already beginning to set. Had they been walking through the jungle all day? "It's so hot out here."

"I'm pretty sure were almost there," Chris answered a little uncertain himself. Claire felt as if they had been going in circles the whole times. "Just a little further."

They soon spotted the high roof of the mansion through the trees. "See? What did I tell you?" Chris said with a smile.

But they suddenly heard someone yelling, and every time the one person yelled, the other laughed. Sheer panic filled in Claire's stomach. Could it be Steve? As they inched towards the mansion, the voices grew louder.

"You faggot, I hate every fiber in your disgusting pale body!" yelled a man – no, a boy. The man laughed as if experiencing great pleasure from the boy's pain.

"Steve," Claire felt tears beginning to fill her eyes. "We found him!"

"And I know that laugh…" Chris said immobilized. "Wesker. We need to find out where their voices are coming from." Claire's heart was beating so fast she felt it would break through her ribs. They continued towards the mansion, but when in reality, the voices were right beneath their feet.

"Over here!" Chris shouted drawing his gun. Slowly he inched towards a clearing in the jungle with Claire close behind with her gun at the ready. He quickly pushed a curtain of veins back hoping to find Wesker and Steve, but instead he found nothing. The voices had completely stopped. "I was positive they were right here!"

Claire suddenly began to cry even harder and felt to her knees. She had heard his voice. She could almost feel him standing right next to her, and then he suddenly slipped through her fingers. "Aww, Claire. It's alright," She felt Chris arms wrap around her and whisper softly into her ear, "We'll find him, but for now we need to make camp, it's getting dark." She didn't want to make camp. All she wanted to do was scream Steve's name at the top of her lungs and have him come find her, but she knew that was impossible. She let herself cry for another minute before pulling herself together.

"We'll start our search again in the morning," Chris said finally letting his sister go. "Hopefully we won't have to go much further." Claire nodded silently. She was afraid if she said anything she would break down into tears.

Chris set up camp while Claire made a fire. She couldn't eat. She picked at her food and threw it into the dirt when Chris wasn't looking. She didn't want him to worry about her any more than he already was.

"Now don't go looking for him on your own. It's too dangerous out there. Especially with Wesker on the loose," Chris said using his pack as a pillow. "We'll start again in the morning."

But Claire had other plans in mind.

**Read and Review. Be on the look out for Chapter 3 :)**


	3. Finding Steve

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. (Although I wish I owned Steve….)**

**Finding Steve : Chapter 3**

"Now don't go looking for him on your own. It's too dangerous out there. Especially with Wesker on the loose," Chris said using his pack as a pillow. "We'll start again in the morning."

But Claire had other plans in mind. She could feel that Steve was close. She couldn't just sleep and let him disappear again come morning. When she knew Chris was asleep, she put another log on the fire so she would be able to find her way back. She pushed back the curtain of veins and got back on the main path. It was pitch black and the sounds of the forest sent shivers up her spine. She flipped on her flashlight, illuminating her path a little better. She carefully retraced their steps from earlier where they first hear the yelling. She couldn't find anything unusual or anything that would lead to a secret passage. She decided to go off the trail just a bit to get a better look of the surrounding area. She flipped her flashlight off just a second to check to see if the fire back at camp was still going strong. Everything seemed fine, but when she turned her head back around she noticed another glow about fifty feet away from where she stood. She glanced back over her shoulder once more before making her way towards the fire. Oddly enough, she wasn't afraid of creatures that went bump in the night. She already had her fair share of those, but not finding Steve felt so much more terrifying than any zombie.

She could now smell the burning wood and could see the outline of a cave mouth around the fire's glow. Once again she turned off her flashlight and held her gun at the ready as she inched towards the cave. She couldn't hear a thing other than the faint sound of someone breathing, as if in a deep sleep. With a deep breath, Claire threw herself into the mouth of the cave pointing her gun back and forth looking for movement. But all she found was a campfire, some boxes of medicine with the Umbrella insignia stamped on them, and a boy sleeping in the corner of the cave.

"Steve," she said into the quiet night. "Steve!"

The boy woke with a start and looked around confused. His sleep eyes then felt upon Claire standing at the mouth the cave with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Claire!" He tried to push himself to get to her, but she was already wrapped around him.

"Steve, I can't believe you're alive," She ran her hands across his face, his bruise lips. "What happened to you?"

"Wesker. He's been injecting me with the virus every day to make sure I can't resist it. But when I heard news of Americans being in the village, I knew it was you. I just can't believe you found me," He pulled her close to him. "I thought I would never see you again."

"After Chris and I beat Alexia, we came back for you, but you were gone. Chris guessed that Wesker took you and a friend of ours guessed that Wesker brought you here."

"Lucky guess," he smiled, but before he could continue Claire's lips were pressed firmly against his. She felt her heart began to swell and fill with everything it had been missing for these past couple of weeks. "I still love you," Steve whispered against her lips.

"I love you too," she wanted to kiss him forever, but she needed to get him out of here. "We need to get you out here."

Steve laughed. "I wish I could but I'm too weak, I can hardly hold myself up."

"I'll go get Chris and we can get you out of here tonight," Claire put her arm around Steve's waist and tried pulling him up.

"It's no use," Steve said grimacing. "Go find Chris first."

"That won't be necessary," Said a voice from the darkness. "Steve is quite alright right where he is."

"Wesker," Claire gasped. This was it, she thought. Wesker was going to kill them both. If only she had listened to Chris, but then she wouldn't have found Steve. Their only hope now was Chris coming to their rescue.

"Shit," muttered Steve.

A pale man with pale eyes and hard with sunglasses shadowing his eyes emerged from the darkness with a laugh.

"You really think you could escape me right under my nose?" Wesker paced around the cave. "Pathetic. Just like your brother."

"You need to get out of here," Steve faintly whispered. "He'll kill you if you don't."

"I'm not leaving you behind again," Claire whispered. "Not after I already found you."

"I guess since your girlfriend has come to rescue you, I'll have to kill her as well. It's such a shame. Really," Wesker smiled. "As for you, you seem to be in need for another dosage."

"Claire you need to get out of here. He's going to inject me with the virus again. You need to get out of here before I transform again," Steve pleaded as Wesker inched toward him. "Please. I don't want to kill you."

The needle slid easily into his neck. "Run Claire!" Steve yelled as he began to transform. But she couldn't move. Her feet felt as if they were glued to the ground and all she could do was cry as she watched Steve transform into a monster. No matter how hard she tried, Steve could never be hers' with the virus lacing through his veins.

The monster – once Steve – roared loudly. Wesker laughed. "Now once again you are in my control you little brat. Kill you're little girlfriend. I'm sure her body would be a lovely present for older brother."

Out of no where a gunshot banged loudly. The gunshot woke Claire out of her trance, and Wesker didn't even flinch when the bullet landed in his shoulder with a thump.

"Claire, get out of here!" Chris yelled aiming at Wesker with one handgun and at the monster with another. "It's too dangerous! He's no longer Steve!"

A flashback suddenly filled Claire's mind. Things were playing out to be just like what happened at the Ashfords. Memories from their time at Rockfort flooded her brain. Their meeting, fighting side by side, Steve's goofy boyish smile, saving each others' lives, what was almost their first kiss. And then Steve transforming, Chris shouting those exact words at her, the grief that built inside her heart. She was anger at Wesker for taking him away from her. He could have been home by now, they could have been together if it wasn't for Wesker. She hated the man with every fiber in her body. That anger is what made her finally draw her gun.

She shot at Wesker while Chris aimed for Steve. After pelting Wesker with at least ten rounds, he finally winced, but laughed. "This isn't worth my time." He turned around and disappeared into the depths of the cave. Claire was about to follow him but an angry roar filled the cave. It wasn't Steve, it was Chris. Chris lied mangled smashed up against some boxes. She watched at her brother struggled to get up. She couldn't lose him during this fight too.

"Steve! You have to snap out of it!" she called out to the monster, but he gave her no response. He zeroed in on Chris. "It's me, Claire!" The monster suddenly stopped and turned around. She thought she had brought him back, but instead of him smiling, he roared and walked towards her. Deep inside her throat a scream waited to be released, but Claire held it in.

"Steve, it's me, Claire. I want to help you. You need to calm down. Everything will be alright," She was backing up away from Steve, but the monster seemed to slow. "Remember, you love me, ……and I love you."

The monster gave another angry roared but did not move, instead he hunched over as if trying to get into a fetal position. The monster roared angrily to itself as if having an argument inside. _He's fighting it, _Claire thought.

"I….. won't….. kill….. you!" the monster grumbled scuffling along. "I…. won't… kill you!" The sentences began to work together instead of as separate phrases. He was coming back to her.

"Fight it! You have to fight it! You're almost there!" Claire yelled. She glanced over at where Chris was lying before, but he was gone. He must have ran after Wesker.

The monster struggled with itself even more, "I….. won't kill you!"

Claire couldn't help herself anymore. She ran over to the monster and stood on her tiptoes to where his ear would be. "You can do it, Steve. I love you."

The monster suddenly jerked itself back and stood very still, shuttering softly. It swayed and then collapsed. "Steve!" Claire ran over to the body lying on the floor. The monster was shrinking, and soon enough a scrawny red haired boy emerged from the dust.

**Read and Review, please and thank you :)**


	4. Cat and Mouse

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: So first off I just wanted to thank everyone for all the faves and reviews. I can't believe that this story has become such a hit! My brother told me it was a dumb idea, but I'm glad I continued with it. I really do appreciate all the support you guys have been offering. Secondly, I know I don't have the best grammar but bear with me. And thirdly, if you haven't figured it out yet, this fic is leading up to Leon and Krauser's mission in _The Darkside Chronicles_. (I also want to thank that game for introducing me to Steve. Without him, I am incomplete XD)**

**Finding Steve : Chapter 4**

Claire sat next to Steve and pulled his head into her lap. His eyes remained closed, fluttering softly. She stroked his face, pushing his hair out of his eyes. Slowly but surely his eyes cracked open and smiled when he looked up to find Claire's smiling face.

"Hi," he simply said.

Claire laughed softly as tears steamed down her face. "Hi."

"Did I win?" Steve asked.

She shuttered softly and failed miserable at holding her tears back. "Yeah, you won."

"Good." He couldn't keep his eyes off her. Even when her tears dropped on his face, he still stared into her eyes as if she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Claire scooted herself back in the dirt giving her more room to cup Steve's head in her hands and kiss him softly. It felt so natural, kissing him. And even though it took all his strength to do so, Steve lifted his arm to touch her face. They were perfect for each other.

But worry suddenly broke through the goofy grin on his face. "Where's Wesker?" he asked trying to push himself up. "Where's Chris?

Claire just now remembered what had been going on minutes ago. "Chris ran after Wesker," Claire said swallowing hard. She could have sworn she just heard gunshots. Angry shot through Steve's eyes. "Wesker isn't taking Chris away from you too. And I got some unfinished business to settle with that son-of-a-bitch anyway." But Steve couldn't stand on his own; he could hardly hold himself up, let alone his arm.

"You're too weak. I'll go find them," Claire reluctantly pulled herself to her feet.

"No," Steve said firmly. "I'm not doing this again. I'm going with you even if it kills me."

Chris ran through the dark following only the sound of Wesker's tailcoat flapping in the wind. The sound of a steel door slamming broke the silence. The door sounded miles away. Wesker had gotten away.

"Wesker!" Chris yelled in frustration. "You son-of-a-bitch!" Chris slowed his run and held his hand out in front of him, cursing himself for forgetting to grab his flashlight after he was thrown up against those crates. He swore he had a lighter somewhere in his pants, but he had too many pockets to go through them all right now. He then heard a soft squeak and the sound of wings. _Just bats_, he told himself. He continued walking forward until he heard another noise that sounded munch like a growl. _Shit_. He frantically began hitting on his pockets, searching for his missing lighter. He eventually found in the cargo pocket on his left leg and quickly flicked it on. He immediately found a pair of red eyes staring directly at him.

The dog snarled again before leaping towards Chris. He managed to dodge the mutated dog before shooting it several times with his handgun. How he wished he had packed his shotgun. His shooting was inaccurate since he had to hold the lighter in the other hand. After hitting the dog one last time in the head, it fell to the ground. He had to get out of here. Who knows what else could be lurking in the dark. He held the lighter out in front of him and noticed that the steel door was only a couple feet away. Thankfully there wasn't much of a lock on it. He guessed that Wesker used the dog as a distraction. Wesker knew just as well as anyone that Chris would have no trouble taking down a dog.

After picking the lock with his knife and even shooting it a few times, he made it through the door. He immediately recognized the dimly lit room as one of Umbrellas and hoped to God that there were no more past experiments lurking around. He looked around the facility quickly, not looking for anything in particular, until his eyes fell upon a handful of glass test tubes. Five were missing out of the ten. Wesker must have gotten just enough of the virus to finish his business with Javier.

Chris cursed under his breath. He knew that Wesker was long gone by now.

With a groan of dislike Claire helped Steve to his feet. He slung one arm over Claire's shoulders as she laced the other around his waist. He felt just as light as he looked, but Claire still couldn't walk perfectly. Carrying people was Chris' job. He was the one with the muscles.

"There's a passage in the back of the cave that leads to one of Umbrella's facilities," Steve said pointing into the dark. "That's where Wesker has been getting the supplies to duplicate the virus."

Claire handed Steve a flashlight before drawing her gun. Steve was glad that he was somewhat of a use to her. He steadied the flashlight as well as he could on the area in front of them. _How long is this tunnel?_ Claire thought. They hadn't even been walking five minutes but it felt like it had been ages.

"It shouldn't be much further," Steve said with a groan as Claire stumbled on a rock.

"Sorry," she apologized faintly, her voice trailing off. "What's that?"

The pair continued forward as Steve held the flashlight out, both squinting to see the mound on the ground.

"Shit," The blood in Steve's body went cold. "That's a dog." He felt Claire's whole body tense up.

"It's it dead?" She whispered hoping not to wake it if it was just asleep.

"Yeah, I think it's dead. There's a pool of blood under it and it looks fresh. Chris must have just been through here," Steve steadied himself in Claire's arm. "We should keep moving."

The slamming of a steel door broke the silence. Claire froze. Could it be another dog or something even worse?

"Claire!" Her older brother's voice echoed through the cave.

"Chris!" She yelled back as Steve's flashlight flooded across his face. She wanted to run to him, but Steve's weight held her back. Chris ran over to them and wrapped his arms around them both.

"Where's Wesker?" Steve asked.

"He got away. All he wanted was the virus. I guess he wasn't up for a fight," Chris answered. "But we need to get out of here. I don't trust this place one bit."

"Do you know where he's going now?" Steve asked, anger flooding through his veins. He wanted to kill Wesker for dissecting him for his own wants.

"A friend of ours, Leon Kennedy, guesses that he's handing off the virus to Javier, but other than that, we have no idea," Chris said carefully pulling Steve's arm over his shoulder giving Claire a break. "But personally, I think that tracking him down isn't worth it. The virus is probably already in the hands of Javier, and were not even certain of that."

"We'll why can't we just break down Javier's door and see if he's got the virus?" Steve suggested.

"Because I don't want to start barking up the wrong tree all based on a guess from a government agent," Chris walked easily with Steve on his side. Claire walked quietly next to the two. As much as she wanted to side with Steve and go after this Javier, she knew Chris was right. "The guy is a drug lord. He's probably got more people than we can count after him."

"So we're just going to give up? After everything he's done to me?" Steve protested angrily.

"I don't know what more we can do. We don't have enough information on Javier to accuse him of anything, and Wesker could have totally lead us off his trail. He has a tendency of being too clever for his own good."

"I really do hate that son-of-a-bitch," Steve grumbled.

Chris laughed. "So do I."

**Reeeeviiewww. Please and thankyou. This fic is turning out to be a lot longer than I thought, and I'm sorry if this chapter didn't end as epicically as you might have hoped. Wesker is a pansey. Anyway. Stay tuned for chapter five :) **


	5. Something Permanent

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Finding Steve : Chapter 5**

The three made it back to camp by daybreak. While Claire made up a bed for Steve, Chris quickly messaged Leon telling him of the night's events, and asked for a helicopter to be ready for them by this evening. Chris felt like a failure for letting Wesker get away like he did. But it confused him that Wesker didn't stick around for a fight. Normally the bastard is just waiting around to prove his supernatural strength and kill whoever stands in his way. Chris guessed that Wesker didn't find him worthy enough to kill. He also found it odd that he didn't kill Steve before he ran off or planted a bomb somewhere. And why did this Javier – if Javier was their man – a drug lord, need the virus? Maybe he wanted to get some insane high off of the virus, but that would seem a bit ridiculous. But why did Wesker need Steve? The Ashfords place was swarmed with traces of the virus. Why couldn't he just set up camp there?

There were too many questions and no enough answer. All Chris knew for sure was that they needed to get out of there before anything else happened. He glanced over at Steve and his sister, and couldn't help but smile. She was happy, and for the moment even getting out of South America didn't matter. Chris sent his message and climbed into his tent.

"We'll start again at noon. Get some sleep, kiddos." He made himself comfortable in the dirt and hoped he would be seeing Jill's face later today before drifting off into a pleasant sleep.

"Where will you stay?" Claire asked brushing Steve's red hair out of his face. She was lying next to him on her side using her elbow to hold her up.

"I thought about moving back into my parents' old house, but they probably destroyed it when they killed my mom and infected my dad. I guess I'll have to find my own place now," A smile etched across Steve's face. "Damn, I can't believe I haven't had a place to call home for years and now I'm finally getting one? This is going to be great."

"We'll you have to make sure it's near me. I don't want you running off again and getting yourself abducted," Claire smiled. "Or you could always move in with my brother and me…." Her voice trailed off. She hadn't had an actual home in ages. Maybe she could live with a friend, or convince Chris to settle down, but she knew he wouldn't do that.

Steve looked at her with concern. He knew that she didn't have a place to go either. He then got an idea that left him beaming and faintly blushing as well. "We could always get a place together," he suggested shyly.

Living with Steve? It would be a dream come true! But she already knew that her brother wouldn't let her do that. Maybe she could stay with Leon, or Barry, or Rebecca. But unlike Steve, they all had jobs to do. Steve's only job was to get better and to completely get the virus out of him.

"As much as I would love to," Claire leaned forward and kissed Steve softly on the lips. She pulled back reluctantly and hovered over his face. "I dunno if that will fly with my brother. We'll have to talk to him when we get back to Europe."

"Europe?" Steve asked dumbfounded as he stroked the side of Claire's soft face. He couldn't get over how soft her skin was, or how beautiful she was. He couldn't believe she was his. "Why are we going to Europe?"

"That's where Chris and the rest of the STARS members have been staying. I guess that's where we'll be camping first before we decide on anything…" She searched for the right word. "permanent."

"Anything permanent with you is just fine," Steve smiled before pulling Claire's lips to his. She felt her whole body shuttered when she felt his fingers trace up her spine, causing her to press her lips even more firmly against his. He opened his mouth swallowing her whole. She melted in his mouth and felt herself rubbing her hand across his chest. She wanted to stay like this forever in his arms, but she knew they both needed rest. They had all the time in the world for this. Reluctantly she pulled back and rested her head on his chest listening to his quick heartbeat, smiling to herself. He rubbed her back and hummed softly to himself as they both drifted to sleep. Now this was something she could get used to.

**Sorry this chapter was so short! It originally was supposed to be the last chapter, but I decided against that recently... Check out Chapter 6! Please and thanks :)**


	6. Hope For A Cure

**EDIT: I combined Chapter 6 with what was meant to be Chapter 7**

**A/N: So I figured I would give this story another go. Just to let you all know, I'm trying to avoid having Wesker show up again and I plan on making it focus more on the romance from here on out (along with figuring out how to cure Steve). So yeah. I dunno where I'm going to go with it, and also updates will be slow (or at least I think). So thanks in advanced to my readers for everything and I hope I don't disappoint. OH and please read the my comment as the bottom when you're finished :) **

**Finding Steve : Chapter 6**

Claire woke the next morning to the blinding sun peaking through the canopy of trees. She felt Steve's arm still loosely wrapped around her and smiled to herself. It wasn't all a dream. She had Steve back in her life and this time she wasn't letting him disappear. She slowly sat up and noticed Chris had already packed up camp. The only thing left unpack was the dented kettle sitting on the fire. Chris was busy on his computer. She turned back to the man she loved and nuzzled her nose with his.

"Steve," she whispered softly. He didn't move. "Steevveee, it's time to get up." He groaned softly and ignored her. She began to giggle as she started to poke his face and kiss his forehead. He couldn't stand the taunting much longer. He threw himself to his left and landed on top of Claire.

"Hey!" She laughed and pushed him off her. "I'm not the one who being a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, you are," he mumbled into the dirt. "Just five more minutes." Claire was about to protest but before she could, she noticed the scars and bruises that still covered his body and remembered how exhausted he must have been.

"Fine," she sighed and kissed him on the forehead once again. "But only five more minutes. And don't come crying to me when Chris yells at you for oversleeping." Steve was already asleep before she stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants. She fixed her hair and pulled on her vest.

"For once you can't yet all me for oversleeping," Claire immediately said once she reached the fire. Chris smiled but said nothing and continued typing. "Are you still talking to Leon?"

"Jill, actually. She e-mailed me late last night said she should be here around midday, so we should probably get going." Chris closed his computer and poured himself another cup of coffee.

"But what about Steve? He doesn't have the strength to walk out of the forest. And what if Javier's men come after us --- "

"You're being paranoid. We have nothing to do with Javier, only Wesker and he's long gone," Chris reassured his little sister, but even he was worried. He just wanted to get out of the forest. "Claire, we'll be fine. I'll carry him out of here if I have to, and speaking of Steve, you need to get him up. We have a long day ahead of us."

She was still worried but she trusted her brother. She tried once again to wake Steve.

"It's been five minutes," She knelt down next to him, her back to the sun. Steve slowly cracked open his gray eyes and found a silhouette blocking the sun, creating a halo around her head.

"Is that an angel? Oh wait, that's my Claire." Steve grinned. He knew Claire was rolling her.

"It's time to get up for real this time. We need to get out of here." She said handing him a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He slowly brought himself to his feet. He stumbled a bit but he regained his balance. Claire watched with concern. "I'm fine, Claire. Really."

She decided to shake her worry into the back of her mind and focus on the day in front of them. They left camp soon after they get some food into Steve's system. He seemed so overjoyed to eat just the little bit he did. Claire figured that Wesker hadn't fed him much of anything, if anything at all. To much of Claire's, and Chris' relief, they made it to the helicopter with no trouble at all, but a bit slower than Chris had hoped due to Steve. But even if they were running a bit behind schedule, it didn't matter to Chris once he saw Jill poke her head out of the copter.

"So he's what caused this whole rescue mission?" She asked jumping down from the aircraft. She extended her hand towards Steve with a smile. "Jill Valentine."

"Steve Burnside," he still held onto to Claire for support as he shook Jill's hand firmly.

"So how about getting us out of here?" Chris said throwing his pack into the copter. "I can't wait to get out of this damned jungle."

"I second that," Steve smiled.

Chris and Claire helped Steve up while Jill readied the copter, but before they took off, she called Chris into the cockpit. "Are you sure about this?" Jill asked. "He's still got the virus fresh in him."

"I know, but we had to get him out of there," Chris answered in almost a whisper. "Who know what Wesker would have done to him? The kid's already been though enough. Once we get back to Europe, we'll have Rebecca take care of him."

Jill chuckled to herself. "Rebeccas can't do it. As much of a genius she is, she can't get the virus out of him. It's going to take more than a med student to get him it out of him. _A lot_ more. Even you said virus takes fifteen years to fully develop. He may be fine right now, but who knows how he'll be in fifteen years from now."

"I know," Chris sighed. "but there has to be a cure somewhere, and he's learned to control it. He stopped himself from killing us, twice. And Claire... she just found him again. You already know I couldn't take him away from her, not after she just got him back. Once Rebecca does everything she can, I'll send them both back to America and have Leon take care of them---"

"And then what?" She interrupted. She was getting irritated at Chris for not thinking things through more. "Leon's not going to want to babysit a pair of teenagers. He's got his own problems to worry about."

Chris took a seat in the cockpit and prepared for take off. "We'll figure something out, but in the mean time, what else can I do, Jill?"

"I just hope you know what you're doing," She sighed and told herself things would work out before lifting off.

Chris and Jill remained silent for most of the trip back to camp, both deep in thought. Was there any way that this virus could be cured or would it just slowly go away? Alexia was able to control it even in the last form of her transformation, would Steve be able to do the same? Chris had faith in Rebecca but Jill still thought it was impossible. Was there really anything they could do for him? Meanwhile, Claire and Steve sat quietly in back with their arms around each other. Other than stealing a kiss every now and then, Steve slept while Claire stared out the window. She was just as concerned for Steve as her brother and Jill, if not more.

"Jill! It's so good to see you!" Rebecca squealed when the group made it back to the STARS hideout.

"It's good to see you too, but we've got a situation," she made sure that Barry was keeping the other three occupied before pulling Rebecca off to the side.

"You see that kid? As cute as he is, he's got the T-Veronica virus running through his veins. Chris is convinced that you can do something for him."

"I don't know what I can do, but I'll try everything I can," Rebecca said glancing at Steve out of the corner of her eye. "How old did you say he was?"

"Becca," Jill smiled and gently hit Rebecca's arm. "He's with Claire, and plus, this is no time for you to get boy crazy."

"Hey, it's not that often I find a boy my age that it's running around without his head cut off."

The girls laughed among themselves and pulled themselves back together when they saw Chris making his way towards them.

"What are you two giggling about?" He asked. The girls smiled but said nothing. "Jill, did you tell Rebecca about Steve?"

"Yeah she did," Rebecca said still glancing at Steve. "I can't promise anything but I'll see what I can do."

On the other side of camp Claire introduced Steve to Barry and the two immediately hit it off. Steve felt a sense of security when Barry was around, as if Barry was a father figure to him. It made Steve think about home, about his own family. His hate and anger began to bubble to the surface all over again just thinking about that past, but at the same time it also brought him a hint of happiness. He felt Claire slip her fingers into his which silenced all the worries in his head.

"Steve, this is Rebecca," Jill pulled the small girl over to the couple. "She is going to see what treatment she can do for you."

Rebecca smiled but said nothing. Claire knew that look. Every girl gave that same smile whenever they liked someone. She felt herself squeeze Steve's hand even tighter.

"Awesome," Steve grinned. "the more you can do to get this damned virus out of me the better."

"But we can't promise anything," Chris butted in. "We don't even know if a specialist can remove the virus from you."

"I'm not surprised, considering what the virus did to Alexia. Just do what you can and I'll be grateful." He said this matter-of-factly, but Claire sensed the nervousness in his voice. She was just as scared for him as he was for his own life. She prayed that virus wouldn't be the death of him. She thought she had lost him once to it. There had to be a cure.

"Steve, do you know why Wesker wanted your body in the first place?" Barry asked.

Steve shook his head. "He never told me much except that my blood was the key to a new world. I didn't know what he planned to do with it, but whatever it was, it wasn't good."

"Then what about this Javier character?" Chris asked. "Do you know anything about him?"

The name sounded familiar but Steve couldn't remember any specifics. Everything had been such a blur over the past couple of days. After a list of questions from everyone, he started to get frustrated. He just wanted to sleep.

"Chris, enough," Claire finally stepped in after listening to a long list of questions about his time on Rockfort to his father's doings in Umbrella to his time with Wesker. "You already talked to me about Rockfort and the Ashfords, you don't need to ask Steve questions I already told you the answers to. Rebecca, can you start his treatment tomorrow? He needs his rest."

Rebecca nodded but Claire suspected a hint of sadness in her eyes. Claire rolled her own eyes. This was ridiculous. Rebecca was supposed to heal Steve, not have a crush on him. She led him to her tent, which she just so happened to share with Rebecca. They took a seat on Claire's cot.

"Sorry about that. They talk about you like you're some test subject," Claire pouted.

"Well I kind of am," Steve smirked trying to ease her tension. Claire only glared at him. "Claire," he said her name softly as he reached for her face. "We'll figure this out. I have faith in them. For the first time since my parents died, for the first time since I met you, I have faith that they are going to help me. Help us. We'll figure this out and everything will go back to the way it should be."

"But how do you know?" Claire was on the verge of tears. "You heard them, they don't know what they can do. I could lose you again ---" Steve put a finger to her mouth.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm sitting right next to you aren't I?" A single tear dropped from her blue eyes. Steve wiped it away with his thumb. "We'll figure something out, I promise." He pulled her face towards hers and he kissed her softly. He tasted the salty tears on her lips which only cause him to kiss her even more deeply. He couldn't tell her of course, but he was just as worried, but he did believe that Rebecca could do something for him, and if not Rebecca, some specialist. Things had to work out. They just had to.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed. But on another note, I kinda need some help… if Rebecca can't heal Steve, then who is some doctor/scientist in the series that can? Maybe Spencer made an unknown anti-virus as well? Maybe Birkin made something that would work before he died? Maybe Wesker was careless and left his shit lying around? I have no idea, and I don't want to result to making up my own characters, so any people you think would be awesome for the job (and are still alive in the series) just let me know. Please and thanks. :) Chapter 7 will be up as soon as I can write it.**


	7. Theories

**A/N: HEY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFO: I updated Chapter 6 earlier this week and made it longer, so if you haven't checked that out, you might want to. Also please note my comment at the end of this (or that) chapter. ANYWAY. So I'm trying me best not to turn this story into a lemon but it's a lot harder than I thought. Thanks for all the comments and faves. You guys are amazing.**

**Chapter 7 : Finding Steve**

The following morning Rebecca began Steve's treatment. To much of Rebecca's disappointment, Claire sat in the corner of the tent with her arms and legs crossed. Chris around as well wondering what Rebecca had in mind. She started by asking Steve to remove his shirt (to much of her enjoyment) and then began with a few simple tests such as checking his blood pressure, blood cells, and his heart and lungs.

"Everything sounds good," She pulled the stethoscope off her neck and began flipping through some slides under the microscope. "His blood is fine. Everything looks normal."

"How can that be?" Chris asked in disbelief, taking a look for himself.

"Maybe it only affects him when he gets injected," Rebecca suggested. "Steve, do you ever feel the effects of it when you haven't recently been injected?"

"I couldn't tell you," Steve began to sit up and pulled his shirt back on. "Wesker began pumping it back into me right after we left Antarctica."

"Or maybe Alexia somehow had a slipup and accidently diluted the virus," Chris suggested.

Claire laughed after not having said anything at all. "That doesn't sound like the Alexia we know, and from what I've seen happen to Steve already, she didn't slipup."

"You never know," Chris shrugged.

"I think our best bet," Rebecca stepped in. "Is to actually inject him with a small dosage and see what happens to his cells."

"And where are we going to find the Veronica virus just lying around?" Claire asked. She wasn't okay with the idea of injecting Steve again at all. She couldn't bear to watch him transform into that monster yet again.

"Steve, do you know how Wesker was getting the virus?" Chris asked.

"When I was first unconscious, and then after that he must have kept extracting it and duplicating it. I don't think he's had an original dosage since he first got it from me."

"Could the effects have worn off because it's been duplicated so many times?" Claire asked eagerly. Maybe things weren't as bad as they had originally thought. She turned and spoke to Steve directly while placing her hand atop of his. "Or maybe you've developed an immunity to it."

"My mother did always make sure I ate my vegetables," Steve smiled.

"It's possible," Rebecca examined the slide again. "But either way, the virus is still inside him. He'll never be fully cured unless we do something about it."

"And another thing Jill pointed, the virus takes fifteen years to develop. You might be fine now, Steve, but what happens when it fully develops?"

"Let's hope it doesn't," Claire snapped at her brother.

"So we can either do one of two things," Chris continued, ignoring Claire. "We can either do what Wesker's been doing and duplicate the virus, or we can just wait and see how he reacts without the daily injected Wesker was giving him."

"I guess the latter. Hopefully nothing will happen, but I can't be positive. He could react to it randomly. I still think we should inject him ourselves."

"Well I vote a big fat no on injecting me yet again. I'm sick of turning into some stupid monster," Steve protested. He felt Claire's hand squeeze his tighter in agreement. "Well, do you have any medicine I can take in the meantime just in case? Like anything I can take to flush this crap out of my system?"

"It's not like the stomach flu," Rebecca smiled. "It's not going to go away over night."

"But from the looks of it, it did," Claire pointed out. Rebecca glared at her out of the corner of her eye as she examined the slides on again.

"Let's just hope it doesn't fair up anytime soon. But in the meantime, I need to get you kids to Leon's." Chris exited the tent.

"Leon's?" Claire asked in surprise and followed her brother outside. "We're staying with Leon? Why can't we just go home back to Mom and Dad's place?" Even though Claire was looking forward to the idea of living alone with Steve, she didn't mind staying with Leon at all. She had missed him.

"Because I'm not there to watch out for you. And you sure as hell aren't going out there on your own again. You two are staying with Leon until I can get back."

"We'll where are you going? On a vacation with Jill?" Claire joked.

"No," Chris said trying to hide his smile. "I've got something called work to worry about. Barry is going home, Jill should already be somewhere else, and you're not staying with Rebecca. That would just be asking for trouble. You just need to worry about not getting yourself into trouble. I'm not taking a rescue mission all the way to Antarctica again."

"But Leon works too, what about him? Are you sure he's going to want to watch a pair of kids until their big brother gets back?"

"He works for the government now, so he only works when they ask him to. He got a lot of free time. I'm sure he would love the company," Claire threw her arms around her brother, she was so happy to go home, even if it was to Leon's house.

"Oh, Chris you don't know how excited I am to be going home. I won't have to sleep in these dirty clothes again." Chris laughed and squeezed his sister a little tighter. He let Claire's smiles smother his worries. She would be alright, he kept reminding himself. There would be in Leon's hands and he would keep an eye on Steve for him. But it wasn't the idea of Steve transforming into a monster that bothered him. This kid was dating his little sister and he was her first real boyfriend. He was putting his trust into Leon to play "big brother" for him while he was gone.

But that night, even with Chris there, the two managed to meet. Steve was staying the medical tent because he wouldn't fit in a tent with Chris and Barry. When Claire thought Rebecca and Jill were both fast asleep, she slipped out of her tent and into Steve's across camp. She let the tent flap fall behind her.

"Who's there?" Steve asked into the dark, sitting up abruptly, but he found his answer when a pair of lips met his.

"It's me, silly," Claire whispered before she slipped her arms around him. A smile ran across her face when she noticed he was shirtless, and silently began to run her hands over his chest and shoulders.

"Claire," he said breathlessly. She felt him shiver from head to toe. "You shouldn't be here. Chris is going to flip if he finds you here."

"But I had to see you," She ran her nose along the hollow of his shoulder before dragging her lips across it.

"Claire…" He moaned, not knowing if it was out of distain or pleasure. But either way, his lips found hers again, and his hands found their way onto her waist and began sliding his hands up and down her sides, feeling her curves. She didn't have her vest, and even though he found it to be sexy, it was no longer hiding her breasts from him. He pulled her on top of himself. She arched her back as his hands moved higher and higher until they brushed the bottom of breasts, causing her to quiver and lean forward. He cupped one in his hand and felt her deepen the kiss.

Steve's mind was going crazy. He had never been this close to a girl before, and breasts didn't feel anything like the boys from school used to describe. Every time her flingers touched his bare skin, he wanted her even more. He hesitantly made his next move and reached his hands around her back until he found the hook to her bra. He waited for her to protest, but she didn't so he continued on. He played with the hook for a minute, trying to figure how unhook it. He began to get nervous. Everything had gone so well so far. He felt Claire smile.

"Here," She pushed his hand out of the way and unhooked it herself.

"I would have gotten it eventually," he grumbled.

"Sure you would have," Claire slipped her tongue into this mouth.

Once again, he cupped her breast in his hands but this time didn't have to worry about her bra getting in the way, all while sucking on her neck. He felt her hand begin to drag down his chest and past his abs. She stopped at his waistline, toying with the skin right above his waistline.

Yet right before she was about to slip her hand under, they heard a noise from across camp.

"Shit," Steve mumbled as he pulled himself back to reality. "I knew this was a bad idea." He watched as Claire quickly hooked her bra again with one swift motion.

"I'll see you in the morning," She kissed him one last time before hurrying out of the tent. She looked around. She saw nothing except the remains of the fire. She held her breath until she was back in her own tent. She noticed Rebecca was exactly the way she had left her, but Jill was no where to be found.

"Boo." Claire jumped at the voice coming from behind her. She turned around to find Jill and relief swept over her.

"Jesus, you scared me." Claire said as she tried to calm her heart.

"So what were you up to?" Jill took a seat on her cot.

"Nothing. I heard a noise and I wanted to see what it was."

"Are you sure it wasn't me just trying to scare you back to your tent?"

Claire stared at Jill with her jaw hanging far from her mouth. Jill laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell your brother."

"Chris would kill me and Steve both. It was all my idea anyway. Steve had nothing to do with it."

"I'm not going to tell him. You're secret is safe with me."

Claire stared at her yet again before nodding and mumbling her thanks. She couldn't believe Jill wasn't going to tell Chris. She didn't know Jill all that well, but she was really starting to like her.

"Now get some sleep. You've got a long way home tomorrow," Jill climbed into her own cot. "And once you get home, you and Steve can have all the 'alone' time you want." She added before rolling over and putting her back to Claire.

Claire smiled to herself in the dark before pulling the covers back and slipping into dreams of her and Steve.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed. But on another note, I kinda need some help… if Rebecca can't heal Steve, then who is some doctor/scientist in the series that can? I don't want to result to making up my own characters, so any people you think would be awesome for the job (and are still alive in the series) just let me know. Please and thanks. Chapter 8 will be up as soon as I can write it. Stay tuned :) **


	8. Manuela

**A/N: So, first off I just wanted to say thanks so much for all the reviews and suggestions, and that I think I figured out where this story is headed (I should have had that figured out when I first started. Haha. Sad, I know.) so thanks to all your help. I also realized that I had to bring Wesker back into the story because he kinda is a big part, and I realized that I do need to bring some zombies and horror in because it wouldn't be RE without them :) **

**Chapter 8 : Finding Steve**

"You need to call me when you land and when you get to Leon's."

"Alright, _Dad_," Claire smiled and wrapped her arms around her brother. "Chris, we'll be fine. I'm not a little kid anymore."

"You're not the one I'm worried about," He mumbled under his breath and glared at Steve who was at the vending machine from over Claire's shoulder.

Claire heard him and hit his arm. "Stop worrying! I'll be just fine," She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll call you when I get there. Promise."

Chris watched his sister walk away from him after finally getting her back. She grabbed Steve's hand and pulled him with her onto the terminal. She turned around and waved to Chris once last time.

As much as he wanted to believe here, he felt that something was going to go terribly wrong.

"Can you believe it? We're finally going home after all this time!" Claire cheered as she stuffed her bag into the compartment above their seats. She wiggled into her seat near the window. Steve took his seat next to her.

"So tell me about this Leon," he asked slipping his arm around her. "Would I like him?"

"I think so," Claire rested her head on Steve's shoulder. He can be rather serious at times, but don't be afraid of him. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet." Claire went on to tell him about her and Leon's time in Raccoon City during the outbreak. It made Steve realize that she had been through just as much as she had.

The flight attendant directed them to buckle their seatbelts and went over various safety regulations. Claire turned and smiled at Steve excitedly. They were on their way.

Leon was there to greet them when they landed. Claire threw her arms around him. "It's so good to see you! I've missed you so much!"

Leon laughed. "I'm just glad you're okay and not locked in some prison." Steve stood awkwardly off to the side while the two friends reunited. Claire soon noticed and called his name.

"Steve, I want you to meet Leon. He's the one who contacted Chris for me and got our butts out of Antarctica." She pushed Steve towards Leon. She was surprised to see him so shy. He had never been this shy.

"Hey, I'm Leon. Please to meet you, kid," He held out his hand. Steve shook it with a strong handshake.

"Hey," Steve said strongly. Even if he didn't know it himself, or would like to admit it, he felt that he had to prove he was better than this pretty boy, even if he was nice.

"I bet you two are hungry. I'm not exactly the best cook so how about a night out?" Leon suggested.

"That would be amazing," Claire smiled. She was up for anything that wasn't camp food.

"Steve? How about you? Anything you want to eat?"

"I wouldn't mine a nice warm pizza".

"Pizza? Sounds good. I know this amazing place not too far from my place."

"So what do you think of him?" Claire asked Steve when they were out of Leon's earshot.

"He seems… nice," Steve muttered slipping his arm around Claire.

"Nice?" She laughed. "Well, he's nice enough to let us live with him."

"I really wouldn't mind living on my own," Steve finally blurted out. He had been holding it on the tip of his tongue for days now. "I mean, I know Chris has his good intentions, but this is crazy. I've been on my own for a while now already and I've turned out fine."

"Other than getting yourself locked inside prison and turning into a wild monster? Yeah, you turned out alright."

"See? We don't need to be staying with him. We can take care of ourselves."

"I know we can. But we need to stay with him for now at least, to make Chris happy. But I promise one day we'll be on our own again."

"And we'll finally have something permanent?" Steve smiled.

"Yes," She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Something permanent."

But from across the Atlantic, Chris had other plans in mind. He emerged from his tent with his bag packed and ready for his next adventure. He was going back to South America. He knew there was something he had overlooked since he was too distracted with getting Steve out of the place to poke around to what Wesker really was planning with the virus. He also needed to figure out how this Javier character fit into the puzzle in his head, and maybe while he was there he would find a cure for the virus as well.

"Going somewhere?" asked a voice to Chris' left. He poked his head around the corner to find Jill cleaning her handgun while sitting on a rock. Her short brown hair hung before her face and her hat sat on her head, slightly tilted to the side.

"Oh, you already know where I'm going, Jill. and you already agreed to go with me."

"I know," She smiled. "I just wanted to sound all mysterious like I knew something I wasn't supposed to."

Chris smiled to himself and waved his arm towards the edge of camp. "C'mon. We need to get going."

Jill rolled her eyes and stood up, brushing the dirt off her pants. "Alright, alright. Jeez, I'm just trying to have a little fun," She slipped her gun back into its holster. "But we need to pack up camp since Barry and Rebecca both ditched us."

The two packed up what was left of their camp and threw it into one of the two trucks the group had been using to get around. Chris' took a step back and looked around the baron ground where their camp once stood. Barry had gone back to Canada to see his family and Rebecca decided to go back to med school in London (of all places). Chris sighed. This had been their home and even if it wasn't much, it was sad to see it go.

"Ready?" Jill asked from the driver's seat.

Chris looked around once more. "Yeah, let's hit it."

Chris and Jill made the same journey together that he and Claire had made not too long ago. Like his sister had the last time he was on this road, he reminisced of old times and maybe even future times. Vacationing around Europe with Jill? The thought caused him to glanced over at her. Thankfully she hadn't noticed and he quickly turned away. He focused his attention on the road ahead of them.

They were back in South America faster than he had remembered. He watched Jill as she locked up the copter since they would be leaving it here until they were done with their mission. But right when they ventured into the small town on the edge of the jungle, he knew something wasn't right. There was an eerie silence they run over that town, unlike the quiet murmurs of the towns' people he had heard before. It sent shivers up his spine even in the unbearable heat of midday. Jill felt it too. Something wasn't right about this place. As they made their way through town, he felt as though they were being watched. More than once had Chris looked over his shoulder to find a pair of eyes peering at him from around a doorway. He felt his hand slip over to gun.

Suddenly, an old woman with heavily tan, wrinkled skin, emerged from a hut, yelling angrily in Portuguese and pointing at Chris and Jill.

"What is he saying?" Chris asked Jill, his hand still hovering over his gun, and silently thanking Jill for knowing some Spanish.

"Something about… her daughter, I think," Jill whispered. "Maybe her granddaughter. Someone took them away…" Jill couldn't make anymore sense out of what the woman was saying, and her rage soon turned into tears. The woman sobbed heavily and returned back into her hut. The pair decided it was perfect timing to make a run for it. They ran through the jungle until they thought they were away from the village enough to take a rest.

"What the hell was that all about?" Chris asked leaning over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

"Obviously, someone took her family away from her and she thinks it was us," Jill said wiping sweat from her brow. She looked up at Chris, knowing there was only one name on his mind. "And we can't go blaming Wesker right away. What about that Javier guy? He could have done it."

"But the two are working together. Javier wants the virus that Wesker has. Maybe he plans to test it on those women? Or maybe he had some relation to them? People with the Veronica virus don't exactly have the best family ties. I mean, look at the Ashfords. This guy could be just as weird."

Jill sighed, looking around at the jungle around her. There were trees everywhere. It was almost impossible to see the blue of the sky through the dense green. "Well, whatever they've got planned, we'll find out when we reach his mansion. Where did you say it was again?"

"It's further up the path," Chris pointed in the direction they were headed. "We've still got a ways to go. Hopefully, we'll make it there before nightfall."

Further up that same path, in the very same mansion the pair was headed to, a man with dark hair and tan skin paced the room. A young girl, no older than ten years old sat quietly on a brightly colored couch, watching the man move back and forth. She had caramel skin and hair that hung over her shoulders in two loose pigtails. A white dress hung loosely from her shoulders. There was a knock on the door, breaking her concentration. The man threw his hands up in relief. He threw open the heavy wooden door, not bothering to wait for his butler. Sunlight poured into the room.

"Albert Wesker," Javier said extending his hand. "It's so good to finally meet you."

Wesker ignored the man's hand and let himself in. "Do you have the virus?" Javier anxiously asked, not wanting to waste a minute.

"Relax. I have the virus," Wesker smiled. "but first, before I give it to you, what do you intend to use it for?"

"My daughter, Manuela," Javier answered. "She is very ill, and suffers from the same disease as her mother once did. She has received organ transplants most of her to control her illness, but I believe that the Veronica virus will be cure."

"Interesting," Wesker examined a vase sitting on an end table. He then noticed the girl hiding behind the cushions of a couch. "And is this your Manuela?"

"Yes, this is my daughter," he pulled her off the couch and pulled her towards Wesker. "Darling, this is the man that is going to help you. Say hello."

But Manuela said nothing, looking away from the strange man.

"Manuela, say hello," her father demanded, squeezing her arm tightly. She whispered a hello between her short cries of pain.

"I'm going to make you better," Wesker said as sweetly as he could. "This virus is going to make everything alright."

Manuela stared up at the pale man with big eyes. She had never seen a man so pale before. She felt shivers run through her body when he smiled, and she could have sworn she saw a gleam of red his eyes.

**A/N: This was one of my longer chapters. I hope you enjoyed. And sorry to all you LeonXManuela lovers, but the two still aren't going to meet until **_**The Darkside Chronicles **_**(and even then I still think that pairing is weird because he's like almost 30 and she's only like 15). Also, sorry if I got Manuela's past with the virus screwed up, but I don't think my fic would work if it was any different. Stay tuned for Chapter 9 :)**


	9. Burnt Eggs

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I never got around to writing over Spring Break like I was hoping to. It kind of a filler chapter so sorry in advanced, but I hope you enjoy anyway :)**

**Chapter 9 : Finding Steve**

"I just want what is best for my daughter," Javier said over a glass of brandy. He sat anxiously and had to stop himself from trembling. "And since her mother passed, raising her has become a mystery. It's as if everything I try doesn't work. She is getting worse."

The two men sat in the sunroom, both with drinks in hand. Wesker sat by the window with his feet propped up on the coffee table and kept himself from yawning by watching his ankle as he twisted it around as Javier spoke. "I'm running out of ideas to keep her well. I hoped that a man of our power would understand my concerns."

"Of course, I do. You are making a large investment by purchasing the virus from me," Wesker took a sip of his drink.

"Money is the least of my worries. Just as long as my Manuela is well." Javier looked for Wesker's eyes behind his sunglasses.

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you first obtain the virus?"

Javier hesitated. "A man by the name of Alexander Ashford many years ago. My wife was suffering from the same disease my daughter is now. He said he understood my pain because he had a daughter who was slowly slipping away from him, although I don't think she was dying; he was concerned with the path she was choosing. But he said it would be risky to try it right away because the virus was still developing and in it's experimental stages. A few years after my daughter was born, my wife died before the virus had fully developed. It was around the same time I found out my daughter would suffered the same fate as my wife. I had to try whatever I could and the virus seemed to do the trick. If only I had known before my wife slipped away…"

"Did you know that Ashford's daughter was a twin," Wesker said now fingering his knife to pass the time. Javier's story only bored Wesker.

"No," Javier wondered if Wesker actually cared anything about his own daughter. "He never mentioned anything about another child."

"Pity," Wesker grinned.

Manuela sat quietly in her room down the hall from the sunroom. The room was painted white and sheer window treatments moved like ghosts against the breeze coming in through the large window. Various toys and dolls littered the shelves along her walls and a picture of a beautiful woman with long dark hair sat in front of her. As she stared at her mother, she thought of the new strange man and how he scared her. Nothing good could come from a man with red eyes. Her grandmother had always warned her that the devil could be lurking in strangers. Was the devil lurking in this man?

She pulled herself off her bed and looked out the window, down at the jungle. She missed mother and her grandmother and the village down by the water. It was so much more lively compared to her sterile white bedroom that felt more like a prison. She walked over to her full length mirror and pulled up her dress to examine the scars that lined her torso. They were still fresh from the last time she had her organs replaced. Could this "virus" put an end to her misery?

A strange ringing sound followed by a loud bird squawking came from inside the jungle, causing her to jump. She looked out the window again searching for the cause of the bird's fear. It took her a minute, but she finally spotted a line of trees swaying as if being hit. Something was in the forest. But before she could run to warn her father, he was already standing in her doorway with fear written all over his tan face. The strange man stood over his shoulder with a sick smile on his face.

"Father, there is someone in the jungle!" She said fearfully. But she wasn't afraid of who or what was in the jungle, she was afraid for them. She knew her father would release a terrible wrath on his unexpected visitors.

"I know. Manuela, darling. I need you to go to go downstairs to the basement," Javier picked her up into his arms. He ran her down to the basement, the same room where her operations were performed.

"I will be back, but for now you need to be safe." He slammed the door behind him without another word.

"Do you have any idea who it might be? Should I release my men on them?" Javier asked Wesker as they made their way down a narrow hallway deep beneath the surface.

"I think I have a hunch," A grin still remained etched into Wesker's face. "Release your men."

*******************

Claire woke to the smell of burnt eggs. She smiled to herself. Leon wasn't lying when he said he couldn't cook. She rubbed her eyes and looked around Leon's small bedroom. There was nothing on the walls except for a few newspaper clippings, a blue sheet covered the small window, and a beat-up desk sat beneath it. She rolled onto her side and pictured Leon sitting at the desk deep in thought, studying the articles that hung around him. Claire had noticed the other night that several of the articles were about a mysterious woman in a red dress running around the country.

As much as she wanted to sink back into bed, Claire reluctantly pulled herself out of bed and glanced at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall. She wore an oversized white t-shirt with "RPD" printed on the back and a pair of blue running shorts. Even though they were a bit big for her, she liked how Leon's clothes fit, and she still couldn't get over how great it felt to be out of her jeans and vest and into something not only clean, but comfortable. Her auburn hair was a mess, but like her clothes, she was thankful it was clean and not coated with sweat, blood, and whatever else she had run into over the past couple of months.

When she entered the main room, Steve was still fast asleep on the plaid pull-out couch while Leon worked in the kitchen. The sleeping bag Leon had claimed as his bed for the past week was no where to be seen.

"'Morning," Leon smiled as he popped some toast into the toaster. "Sorry if I woke you."

"No, it's alright," Claire took as seat at the card table Leon called a dinner table. She noticed he was already dressed for the day, but said nothing. "It looks like Steve had a long night."

"He was out right after you went to bed. I even had to pull a sheet over him like he was my kid or something."

"Aww. That's cute," Claire mocked. Leon ignored her and continued making breakfast. "Do you need any help?"

"Nah, I'm nearly done," He spooned the last bit of egg onto a plate and noisily threw the pan into the sink. Claire heard Steve wake, thrashing his arms around widely.

"Wh- what's going on?" He asked sitting up, eyes bloodshot and his hair a mess.

"Breakfast," Leon said trying to avoid Claire's eyes. She knew he woke him on purpose. "I hope you like your eggs burnt."

Steve groaned, but he was happy to be eating home cooking again, even if it was burnt. He threw back the sheet that covered his legs, wondering how it got there. But as soon has he pulled it off, he immediately pulled it back on and threw himself back down on the mattress. He felt his face flush and he hoped to God that no one had seen. He ran through his head to figure out what he had been dreaming about last night. He peaked his head over the back of the couch to sneak a look at Claire who sat at the table munching on a piece of toast, and he couldn't help but smiled when he noticed how Leon's shirt hung loosely over her body; how the rays of light from the window silhouetted it and emphasizes her curves. He shook his head and snapped back to reality when he realized that his is what had caused his problem in the first place. So instead, he imagined Alfred Ashford (with his Alexia's make-up on) as a swimsuit model, sporting a small red Speedo. His problem quickly went away and then joined the two for breakfast.

"So what would you kids like to do today?" Leon asked sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Sleep would be nice," Steve grumbled at he shoved a mouthful of eggs into his mouth.

"I wouldn't mind doing some shopping," Claire smiled excitedly. Both men groaned. "What? I'm sorry for not wanting to wear one outfit for the rest of my life."

"Well, Claire, why don't you go shopping and then Steve and I can have some quality man time," Leon suggested. Steve choked on his orange juice. The last thing he wanted to do was spend time with Leon.

"That sounds perfect," Claire grinned while Steve did his best to force a smile.

So while Claire made her way through the local department store, Steve and Leon sat awkwardly at the bar down the street from Leon's house. Steve nibbled on pretzels while Leon waited for his beer.

"So…" Leon searched his brain for small talk. "You and Claire…"

"Yeah," Steve twiddled his thumbs. "She's great."

"Yeah, she is," Leon blurted out without thinking. "I mean, she's a great person. She's like the little sister I never had." _Shit,_ he said to himself. The last thing he needed was this kid worried he was going to steal Claire from him. Leon knew they had nothing to talk about except the one thing they had in common: Claire… and surprisingly enough they had a very similar haircut.

"Right," Steve said. He too was feeling the tension. "So I hear you helped getting Claire and I escape from Rockfort and get me out of South America."

"Yeah. Working in the government really has it's advantages at time," Leon chuckled.

"So what do you even do for the government, or is it all like top secret shit? Do you work for the CIA or the FBI or the Secret Survice or maybe even Umbrella?"

"Umbrella? You've got to be kidding me, kid," Leon thanked the bartender for his beer and took a sip. "And no, I don't follow the President around like I'm his groupies. I'm not too found of President Graham to be honest. Every time he mentions his daughter to me he always talks like he's hinting towards something."

"Then what do you do?" Steve asked now taking a sip of his Coke, enviously staring at Leon's beer.

"It's all classified, so I can't tell you, but the training is a bitch."

"Sounds like an adventure."

"Well when you've a past that involves Umbrella whatsoever, everything is bound to be an adventure. Speaking of Umbrella, how did you find yourself involved in it?" Leon watched as Steve's grip about his glass tighten. He felt a hint of regret in asking, but Steve began his story.

He was just a kid; he didn't deserve to be under Umbrella clutches at such a young age. Sherry flashed across his mind. She lost both parents to the Organization and she was only eight. Steve had been sixteen. No wonder he was such an angry adolescent kid, and in that sense, he reminded Leon of his sixteen year old self, not even considering becoming a cop and was more concerned with his hair than what he would be eating for the next week. But he had grown so much since that sixteen year old image of himself was alive. Not only did he missed the innocence of it, he felt sorry for people like Sherry, Steve, and even Claire and Chris who lost it all so early because their parents slipped through their fingers. It wasn't until Claire and Steve showed up at his door did he realize how much he missed having the company that Sherry gave him while she stayed with him while Claire was chasing after Chris. He smiled to himself when realized that his house was beginning to become a foster home.

"And now as you know I'm a monster waiting to explode." Steve wondered if Leon had even been listening to him considering he smiled once or twice when he talked about his time in prison.

"So were you actually dead as one point?" Leon asked. _I guess he had been listening_, Steve thought.

"I think so, or I was just passed out into such a deep sleep that Claire couldn't tell if I was dead or alive."

"She thought you were dead. Then again, we all thought you were dead, except for Chris because he knew Wesker would want you alive for his own reasons. But he told me how she was after they got back to Europe. He heard her sobbing every night in her tent for the longest time. He was worried that just idea of you being alive would drive her crazy. And what do you know, she flew all the way to South America in hopes of finding a body. A body. She must really care about you to do that."

Steve smiled to himself because he knew it was true.

"Speak of the devil," Leon said looking over his shoulder. "And it looks like she maxed out my credit card."

"Steve!" Claire said from across the bar with about seven shopping bags in her hands.

"How could she get all that shopping done so quickly?" Steve asked astonished. "We've only been sitting here for fifteen minutes. If even."

"Actually, it's been a little over an hour," Leon corrected him. "Piece of advice. Never underestimate a woman with a credit card."

******************

"I've had my fair share of dark forest creeping with rabid dogs and zombies, but I don't think I would ever miss them as much as I do now," Jill said wiping her brow. "The bugs and the heat are unbearable."

Chris agreed with Jill entirely, but they had to keep their guard up. They couldn't let this heat bother them so much. They kept walking, although he had noticed that it was significantly warmer now than it had been while he was here with Claire just a short time ago. "Just be thankful they're no bigger than a fingernail and not threatening to eat your head."

Why do I feel like you just jinxed that?" Jill said removing her beret and running her fingers through her sweaty hair. She stuffed her signature hat in her pack.

"Because I probably did." They walked a few more minutes before they reached a dense patch of trees. As Jill was about to slip through the brush, Chris pulled out a large machete he had been saving for an occasion just like this one. Jill sighed and rolled her eyes. Men and their knives. He began to hack at the trees, although he wasn't doing much more than pushing them out of the way.

"Is this really necessary?" Jill asked pushing twigs out of her line of vision

"Yes," Chris said proudly as he took one big swing, hoping to hear the satisfying thud of hitting a large tree, but instead a loud ringing sound filled the air, as if he had struck metal. "Shit!"

A bird squawked from somewhere above them as the two stood motionless. Jill slowly inched towards the spot where Chris had struck and found a rusted metal pipe in place of a thin tree. "This must have brought water from the mansion to the facility beneath it, but it doesn't look like it's been used for years."

"Just another piece of trash Umbrella's left lying around," Chris sheathed his knife. "C'mon, we're nearly there." But Jill didn't move. She stood with a blank expression on her face as if she was listening for something.

"What is it?" Chris asked stepping towards her, but she held one hand up and put the other to her lips, listening to the jungle air around them.

"Did you hear that?" She whispered.

"Hear what?" Chris asked looking around. There was nothing around them except for a bunch of trees. Maybe the heat was getting to her. But suddenly he did hear it. Somewhere up the hill a metal door slammed shut followed by a number of moans and yells. Zombies.

**A/N: So next chapter will be up as soon as I write it (and idk when that will be). What to look for in future chapters? I'm hoping to include Manuela a little bit more, the inevitable Steve/Claire lemon, the group figures out more about the Veronica virus, Rebecca finds a giant tumor that had fangs and a toupee growing on her back!!!! (jk, of course) and the rest you'll just have to wait and see (But I'm also really bad a keeping promises when it come to what I'm writing to that list might be changing XD) But yeah. I hope you enjoyed. So read and review. Thanks a billion and then some more 3**


	10. Alexander

**A/N: Hey everyone! So I wrote this chapter sooner than I had expected, but I guess that's good for you all. Hope you enjoy :) **

**Finding Steve : Chapter 10**

"This is all your fault!" Jill yelled as the two began to backpedal towards the village. "If you hadn't pulled out that big knife of yours, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I've gone this long without running into a single zombie; I figured I was in the clear." Chris argued.

"Well, apparently not," Jill stopped short. "We can't let these things get into the village. We have to stop them."

"Well, I'm sure that old lady in town would be so happy to receive a kiss from one of these blood sucking bastard." As much as he didn't want to deal with the undead, he knew she was right. And it was only a bunch of zombies. Nothing he couldn't handle with his eyes closed. The pair headed back towards the mansion and as they expected, the front of the mansion was swarming with zombies, but the monsters hadn't noticed the pair. They stood aimlessly waiting for their prey to mosey on right in front of them; but Jill and Chris knew better, even though they could easily take them down.

"Do you think we should kill them or just sneak past them?" Chris whispered as the two hide behind some brush.

"I dunno, how about you wave your knife around and let them know we're here." Jill snapped.

"Hey, it's not my fault Umbrella left that pipe lying around!" Chris protested, slightly raising his voice. Their quarrel would get them noticed if they didn't quiet down.

Jill rolled her eyes. "You're such a guy. You always blame everyone but yourself. Take some responsibility every once in a while why don't you."

"I'm not the one who always runs off without even saying goodbye!" Chris yelled. As much as he hated to admit it, every time Jill ran off it left an empty place in his heart. All he wanted was for her to stay put at least once. A moan came from his left. Shit. They'd been spotted. Chris aimed his gun to the left and hit the zombie square in the forehead. He waited for some encouragement from Jill, but she said nothing. Instead she only stared at him as if they were the only two in the jungle and they weren't being attacked by zombies.

Chris knew he had hit a nerve and she would want to talk about this. _Don't look at me like that_, he groaned in frustration as Jill continued to stare at him.

"Now isn't exactly the time to be talking about this," he shot another zombie in the leg. "I could use some help."

Jill snapped out of her stare and took aim at a zombie to her right, although she still keep an eye on Chris out of the corner of her eye.

The pair fought back to back and took out another eight zombies or so. Chris' glanced toward the mansion and he could have sworn he saw an image in one of the windows high above of the jungle with a pair of gleaming red eyes. _So Wesker is still here_, Chris thought.

"There an entrance not too far back which leads to the underground facility," Chris said as he finished off yet the last of the monsters. They needed to get out of here before another batch came around.

"Now you mention it," Jill rolled her eyes and followed Chris as he backtracked towards the place where he and Claire had found Steve. Everything was just as they had left it, up to their footprints in the dirt.

"There's a tunnel in the back of the cave that leads to the facility," Chris said feeling for his flashlight. He wasn't going to be left without this time. I'm sure we can reach the mansion from there."

Even with their flashlights, the tunnel felt dark, but this time at least he got a chance to look around the tunnel without fear of tripping over something or being mauled by a dog again. The cave looked manmade, packed with stone and dirt. Bats hung from the ceiling and various pieces of trash lied around the floor, and the pair also noticed a number of syringes near the mouth of the cave. Wesker must have just thrown the leftovers carelessly into the cave. Jill carefully picked one up to examine it.

"There's nothing in it. Not even a drop," She gave him an apologetic look. "We both knew it wouldn't be this easy." She wanted to get out of this place just as much as Chris.

They continued down the tunnel until they found the carcass of the dog Chris had killed not even two weeks ago. Not only had maggots and flies gotten to it, but it looked as if a huge chunk was ripped out of its stomach. Jill also pointed out that the body had been dragged several feet, dried blood smeared along the dirt. They both knew that whatever had been eating the carcass would be back, and Chris could have sworn they were being watched. They made it to the door at the end of the tunnel and latched it once they were in. They didn't need whatever was lurking in the dark to surprise them.

Jill had the same reaction as Chris did when he first entered the facility. It was just like all the other bases: cold, dark, and full of test tubes and paperwork. Blood was sprinkled across the desks and pieces of glass covered the floor. Obviously what was lurking outside slaughtered whoever was working down here. A body lied in the corner of the room, or at least what was left of one. Jill gagged and Chris pushed her on.

"What are we even looking for?" Jill asked ignoring the building nausea. "This place is a mess."

"Anything about an anti-virus or how to make one or where we can find it. Whatever you can dig up about the Ashfords' or Rockfort or Antarctica is gold." Chris shuffled through some papers, using his flashlight to read in the dim light.

Jill however wasn't looking for documents. In the back of the facility was a lab where - by the looks of the bloodstains along the walls – several experiments had been formed in the past.

Chris went from desk to desk, poking around in hope of finding anything that might help them out. But just when he was about join Jill in the lab, he noticed a file poking out of a mangled filing cabinet. The Progenitor Virus.

Jill ran her fingers across the top of a line of test tubs. She should have been thinking about their mission, but she was thinking about Chris. Was he actually mad at her for running off all the time? She didn't think he cared that much. Well, she hoped he had, but she never expected him to be upset about her leaving. She would have to bring it up sooner or later, considering Chris was "too manly" to talk about anything emotional. She rolled her eyes with disgust just as the thought of it. Men.

Chris ran his eyes along the file. This was the same virus that Alexander Ashford was injected with. It was a stand of the T-Veronica virus… and it had a cure!

"… _and those who have been injected by the Progenitor virus release a poison that can only be cured by a special serum…"_

Even though only the poison had a cure, if they got this serum back to Rebecca, maybe she could figure out how the antidote works and create a cure for the Veronica virus itself. But how were they going to get their hands on this serum? The only place Chris could think this serum would be held was in Umbrella's Antarctica base which was totally destroyed. Chris skimmed though the rest of the mangled piece of paper, but it said nothing more of the serum. He slipped the piece of paper into his pocket, hoping that it might do some help in the future. He flipped through the filing cabinet once more, but found nothing else of use.

He couldn't possibly expect her to hang around a campsite in the middle of France where the only excitement was Barry talking in his sleep. Jill needed to be out in the world, not hiding in the woods. She shook her thoughts of Chris free from her head and turned attention back to the test tubs in front of her. There were five empty test tubs left in a container that once held ten. There was no label about what once had been in them. She noticed a microscope off to the left with a number of slides sitting next to it holding what looked like to be blood. Unlike the test tubes, these were labeled, _WB534, AA971, SB267_. The first two slides meant nothing to her, but the third sent a rush of energy through her body. Steve Burnside. It had to be. It would be too much of a coincident if it wasn't. She also remembered the number 267 was on the back of his prisoner's uniform. Wesker must have been looking for changes in Steve's blood while he transformed as well. Steve's slide had been placed under the microscope. But before she could take a peak at the slide, she first heard a thud to her right and then movement to her left.

"Chris?" She called out, but there was no response. She pulled out of her gun and slowly followed the noise. She then noticed that the facility made a circle and she was now back at the entrance. Although, once thing was different: the door was open.

Chris made his way to another desk on the opposite side of the room. A bookshelf stood next to the desk with half its reference books scattered across the floor, but only one of them caught his interest. He wouldn't have seen it if he had been looking for it. A book of insects and on the front cover were two ants surrounding a dragonfly, as if they were going to tear it to pieces. He flipped through the pages until he found a piece of torn paper conveniently placed on a page titled "The Queen Ant". To whom the letter was addressed to was unknown, but the letter was written by none other than Alexander Ashford.

"…_I felt my daughter is slipping through my fingers and heading down a path much darker than I had intended. Sometimes I wish she was more concerned for something other than herself, but that is my headstrong ingenious Alexia for you. I wouldn't expect any less. But I fear she is going to take her experiments much too far, and she has grown so obsessed with a new strand of virus called the T-Veronica virus. I personally know little about it because she has kept it such a secret from me, but I did manage to take a look at it while the children were playing. It's extraordinary, but unbelievably powerful. There's no possible way any human could survive it without mutation or death. But knowing my daughter, Alexia is going to use it because of the strength it offers, so I have decided to create an anti-virus in hopes that it will help not only your own family, but to the rest of humanity to have to endure this terrible creation…"_

The rest of the letter was ripped clean off, pocketed, and hidden somewhere else. Chris slammed his hand onto the desktop. They were so close, only to be led on another wild goose chase for another piece of this puzzle. Was this letter written to Javier? If so, he hoped he might find the rest of the letter hidden in Javier's mansion.

"Chris?" He heard Jill call. He sighed with frustration and pulled himself back together.

"Yeah?" He mumbled heading towards the lab, but Jill was no where to be seen. "Jill?"

"Chris!" Jill yelled from around the corner followed by a loud snarl. He found Jill with her gun pointed towards the door, and a hunter running straight for them.

From only a floor above the pair, Manuela couldn't see even a peak of the outside world. She paced the holding cell her father had left her in deep in thought. She had to find a way out of here so she could help those people, even if she had no idea who they were. The cell was an exact replica of her bedroom upstairs, minus the large window, and the door was made of heavy metal. Her first idea was to throw herself against the door and maybe it would fly open. But she was a tiny girl with not much body mass, so that idea was totally useless. Her next thought was to climb out the non-existence window, but of course that wouldn't work. The veneration system was no bigger than her hand and there were no secret buttons that she knew of. She was trapped. She sighed loudly with defeat and climbed onto her fake bed. She pulled her knees under her chin and while she stared at the blinking light of the security camera in the corner of the room, she prayed that their unexpected visitors would make it out alive.

**A/N: So sorry this chapter was like all about Jill and Chris, but I figured I needed to get more about the plot going. Btw, the other two blood slides are Birkin's and either Alfred or Alexia's. (It's not important to the story so I didn't feel the need to specifiy). And another thing, I'm pretty sure that even Steve's slide won't be significant in the future, it just happens to be in the lab. Next chapter will be mostly Claire and Steve I think… while means lemon… Well, as PG as I can make it without having to change my rating from T to M, but idk. I'll have to see how writing that goes. Hope you enjoyed. Reeviieeww :) **


	11. Spring Cleaning

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update. I've just been really busy with the school year coming to an end in only a couple weeks. Prom is tomorrow night so that should be interesting. Anyway. Just to let you know, this is a lemon – my first lemon ever written – so sorry if it sucks. Anyway, enjoy and review :)**

**Finding Steve : Chapter 11**

After a week of living with Leon, Claire was finally getting used to waking up to the smell of burnt eggs, even though she had tried to teach him how to cook without burning anything, but he either couldn't do it, or he chose not to. Surprisingly enough, Steve was at the table when Claire walked out into the main room instead of still curled up on the fold out couch. But she wasn't surprised to find his face glued to the table top with his eyes closed.

"It's too early!" Steve groaned, his red hair falling into his face. It wasn't any earlier than she had normally gotten up.

"Oh suck it up. I wanted to get some food in you kids before I left."

"Leave?" Claire asked climbing into her chair. "Where are you going?"

"Work. I got called for an assignment early this morning." Leon placed two cups of orange juice on the table.

"Too early," Steve groaned again. "He got a phone call at fucking six AM."

"But it's eight now. Why didn't you just go back to sleep?" Claire asked. She noticed Leon grin out of the corner of her eye.

"Because Agent Pretty Boy wouldn't let me," Steve finally lifted his head up from the table only to prop his elbow up and leave on his arm. "He dragged me with him on his morning run." Claire couldn't help but giggle. The thought of Leon pushing Steve along in running attire was too much. She stuffed a piece of toast in her mouth, muffling her giggles.

"Any wasn't that a fantastic way to start the day?" Leon sipped his coffee.

"Fuck you."

"Have you heard anything from Chris lately?" Claire asked changing the subject. "I haven't talked to him since the airport."

Leon paused. "I haven't heard from him either. You can always send him an e-mail. My laptop is in my room," He glanced at his watch. "I should be going."

"When will you be home?" Leon hadn't worked once since the two had been staying with him. Chris was right about him needing the company. Leon had taken them all around DC to pass the time, visiting everything from the Capital Building to a museum all about Umbrella to the best pizza place in town. It would be weird not having him around.

"I won't be gone to long. I might end up staying in a hotel, but I'll be back sometime tomorrow at the latest," he pulled his leather jacket over his tight black t-shirt. His handgun was strapped firmly to his waist. It was the only gun he was carrying so he couldn't be gone too long. "There some cash in the box above the fridge – don't spend it all – and maybe you can spend the day giving this place a good clean. God know it needs it. Call me if anything happens and --"

"Alright, Mother," Steve rolled eyes. "Just go already."

"And no monkey business," Leon grinned as he closed the door behind him.

The apartment was now completely quiet except for the soft hum of the refrigerator and the fading sound of Leon's heavy footsteps down the stairwell. Claire and Steve sat silently in the kitchen. Steve's cheek slipped off his hand and his face fell to the table again.

"I didn't think he would ever leave," he mumbled into the wood. "As cool of a person as he is, I didn't have to see every nook and cranny of DC. He was just like my dad when I came here as a kid, and that's not a good thing."

"You know he means well," Claire brought her dishes over the sink. She stared out the window as the morning sun soaked her skin. As she pushed back the curtains even further, a thick cloud of dust filled the air.

"This place really is a mess," Steve said as Claire coughed loudly.

"What made you come to that conclusion?" Claire snapped between coughs.

"I dunno. He's a single guy so I kinda figured it would be a dump."

Claire couldn't believe he was serious. "Well, we've got nothing better to do so we'll start in the kitchen and work out way into the bathroom."

"Ah man! Claire, are you serious? We're going to clean his place?" He picked up a pair of pants thrown in the corner of the room. "It's all gross and… stuff."

"It's the least we can do. He's letting us stay with him after all."

Steve grumbled something similar to "Yeah, I guess you're right" as he stomped into the bedroom in search of the laundry basket. But as much as Steve minded the cleaning, he minded not being able to spend his time alone with Claire has he wanted to even more. For an entire week he hadn't even gotten to kiss her, let alone get within ten feet of her without Leon jumping in asking where they wanted to go next.

She was already busy at work cleaning the stove when he got back. He gathered up all the clothes lying around the room and threw them into the basket. He couldn't help but watch Claire while she leaned over and cleaned the inside of the oven. She was still in her pajamas. She had bought herself a pair of tight fitting shorts instead of wearing Leon's oversized basketball ones and he wondered if she was purposely sticking her ass out just for him. He resisted the urge to walk over and wrap his arms around her by reminding himself that they still had the whole day together, and hoped that they would get done cleaning sooner than later.

They finally finished around one after scrubbing through four layers of dust, piling up dirty laundry, and throwing fresh sheets on the bed. They both flopped down on the couch to look at their work. Claire could actually see out the kitchen window and the blue curtains no longer had a grayish tent to them. Dust no longer hid all Leon's knick-knacks and pictures he had collected over the years, and the bedroom no longer smelled like a teenage boy's room. The entire place had new flesh look to it, even if Claire knew it wouldn't last very long.

"This is why I don't like cleaning," Steve said clapping his hands together and watching a cloud of dust form around his head like a mushroom cloud. "I get dirty in the process."

"We're not done yet," Claire said shaking the dust out of her hair. "We've still got to the bathroom."

Steve groaned in disgust yet again as Claire grabbed his hand and dragged him into the green tiled bathroom. Claire cracked open the small window above the sink letting the afternoon light in.

"I'll start on the tub if you get the sink," She tossed him a sponge. Like when she was cleaning the oven, her ass stuck straight out. Steve began to vigorously scrub sink, trying his best to ignore Claire's ass, and the tightness in his groin. But unlike in the kitchen, she was across the room then; this time, they were cramped in a small room together. His patience was running out.

As Claire turned on the water to wash the suds down the drain, Steve felt himself snap. Somehow his hands end up on her waist.

"Steve…" he heard her call his name somewhere in the distance as she leaned back into his chest. He felt her back arch as he softly sucked on her neck and ran his hands across her stomach and grazed over her breasts. He smiled when he noticed she wasn't wearing a bra. He stopped her as she tried to turn around and kiss his face, but he wouldn't let her. Not yet. He was going to have his fun with her like she had her fun with him.

He slowly slipped his hand up her shirt, dragging his fingertips along her curves and around her breasts. He felt her shuddered and her grip on the back of head tightened, pulling at his red hair. His palm ever so slightly dragged across one breast, and then the other. He heard her breathing quicken in his ear making himself grow even tighter. He finally cupped on breast in his hand and began to pull gently at it, wondering how it would feel and taste in his mouth. He grasped the other in his other hand and began to massage it in the same way. He felt her body rocking against his. Still nibbling at her neck, one hand began to descend down her torso and stopped right before the navel.

"Did you have any of this in mind or did you plan to clean all day?" Steve asked dragging his lips along her ear.

"I didn't think you would be this difficult about it," She breathed as his hand began to move lower and lower.

"For someone who can kick zombie ass, you're very vulnerable when you're touched in the right place," His hand hovered right above her waistline, and with that she arched her back just enough for his hand to slip down into her folds. She moaned as he ran his fingers between them before slipping inside of her.

"I couldn't help but wonder, did you buy those shorts just for me?" he ran his tongue alone her jaw.

"I figured they would let you mind wander," her hand moved towards his groin. "And I think they did just the trick." He felt her begin to thrust herself at his hand while he played with her breast and her sex. She reached for his shaft but he pulled his hand away before she got too excited. Yet before he found another way to tease her, she was already flipped around, running her hands along his chest while she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Steve pulled her against him and pressed his shaft against her sex as his blood began to pulse. She stepped backwards and pulled him underneath the water falling from the shower head.

He tore the wet t-shirt from her body and began to pull at her shorts. Her damp hair stuck to her chest. She was even more beautiful without her clothes, so beautiful he could barely take it. He ran his hands across her wet body digging his nails gently into her back, taking her scent in and pulling her even closer to him. He dragged his lips down with him as he moved from her neck down to her breast. His tongue swirled around her tit while he pushed her shorts and underwear past her knees and pulled them off her ankles.

She was already pulling at his shirt before he could stand up straight. His red hair looked brown in the dim light. Like Steve did, Claire dragged her lips down with her as she pulled Steve's boxers to his ankles, but stopped at his groin. She grasped it with her hand at first, moving it slowly up and down before lowering her mouth to it. She circled her tongue around the tip before slipping his whole shaft into her mouth. She heard him groan with pleasure and she squeezed the base of it with her hand. She made her way back up to his face the same way she made her way down, only to be greeted by Steve slamming her against the shower wall while he kissed her feverously. Her hand massaged him until he couldn't handle it anymore. They both knew they wouldn't be able to last much longer.

Steve felt Claire began to pull his shaft towards her and placed the tip on her sex. With one simple thrust, he was inside of her. He felt her tighten around him with every thrust causing his thrusts to quicken. He heard himself whisper her name. She felt his whole body shuttered as he climaxed. As soon as he pulled himself out of her, he slipped his fingers inside of her one last time before she joined him in ecstasy. They stood in the shower, breathing heavily with their arms still wrapped one another.

By the end of the day, Leon's bedroom smelt like a teenage boy's all over again. The moonlight poked through the curtains while Steve stared at the ceiling fan as she stroked Claire's bare back. She was fast asleep with her head on his chest, but he was far from it. He was happy. Since the day he had met Claire, his past began to wither away and mean nothing to him. They were in love

and their future together all that mattered to him. But if he was this happy, then why did he feel like something deep inside him was so wrong?

It was midday by the time Leon found the place he was meeting his guest. He pushed open the door and entered the dark, murky restaurant. _What made her pick this place of all places? _He wondered searching the booths. Unpleasant eyes followed him as he made his way around the building. He figured she wasn't there yet so he took a seat at the bar. But before he ordered his drink, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Are you Mr. Scott?" asked a raspy voice. Leon nodded. "Follow me, then." Leon felt his hand automatically rest on his gun while the older gentleman escorted him to the back of the restaurant. The man gestured towards a private dining room. Leon smiled to himself, _She never would accept anything but the best. _

Leon stepped inside and the man closed the door behind him.

"Long time so see, handsome."

**A/N: So that was the first lemon I've ever written, so sorry if it was horrible. I guess my rating is now M instead of T (crap). So yeah. I might make some changes and add more emotion to it instead of it just being a porno but idk when I'll get around to that. Anyway. Thanks for reading. If you're wondering, idk when this story is going to end. Hopefully no more than 20 chapters. I think I've dragged it out long enough XD RREEVIIEWWW :) **


	12. Intertwining

**A/N: So once again, sorry this took me so long to post. I've been so busy with school, friends, and getting ready for college that I haven't had time to write. Just to let you know, it's a long chapter which I hope you guys will enjoy. :) **

**Finding Steve : Chapter 12**

"Why are these invaders here anyway? I have no business with these STARS members as you call them. Do you think they want my Manuela?" The man asked in pure panic. He would kill anyone who hurt his daughter.

The two men were back sitting in Javier's sun room comfortably, but Javier couldn't relax knowing there were killers running wild beneath his home, and near his daughter.

"They believe they can find an anti-virus to the T-Veronica virus just lying around here," Wesker grinned, red eyes flashing as he pulled a small vile from his pocket. "When in reality, they have no chance of finding it."

But little did Wesker know Javier was keeping a secret to himself. What if the intruders found his anti-virus sitting in the safe in his office? But there was no way for them to break the lock. It was perfectly safe…

"So I'm sure you didn't call me here just to chat," Ada dragged her finger around the top of her wineglass. She watched Leon carefully as he took a seat across the table from her. He looked good. No new scares or cuts meant that he must be out of a job. She eyed the tight black shirt that hugged his muscular body.

"This is the last place I would ask someone to come and chat with. Let alone have to track them down just to have a few drinks," Leon clasped his hands together on top of the table. He knew Ada was trying to ignore his stares at her. It had been too long since their last encounter, and the thought of their kiss left a tingling on his lips. "Wesker has the T-Veronica virus."

A flash of concern filled Ada's dark eyes, but she quickly covered her worry with a smile. "And how does that affect me?"

Leon didn't understand how Ada manage to keep her sexy red dress so perfect, even though she been seen wearing it on all her missions. But her dress wasn't the only thing he wondered how she kept so perfect. It hugged her body like a sock, specifically her curves and her breasts.

"We both know you want to put an end Umbrella just as much as everyone else." Leon said somehow managing to ignore Ada's physique.

She stared at him for a long moment, letting his words hang in her ears. "I have my own troubles to worry about," she said with a sigh. "Umbrella will be the cause of it's own downfall whether we do something about it or not."

"Claire is in trouble."

"Why would I want to help that little brat?" Ada cared nothing for Claire since the Raccoon City incident.

"Because her boyfriend is laced with the Veronica virus," Leon waited for some change of expression in her dark eyes, but there was none. "And he's currently living in my apartment. His name is Steve Burnside. He met Claire on Rockfort Island and Umbrella killed both his parents. Alexia Ashford injected him with the virus because Chris Redfield could kill her."

"There's no helping him," She said matter-of-factly. "Like you said, the virus is running through his veins. There's no turning back once it's in the bloodstream."

"Well Chris is determined to cure him. He and Claire even went all the way to South America to rescue Steve, and now Chris and Jill are there right now trying to find a cure while I baby-sit the kiddies."

"Sounds like too much trouble," South America. So Leon and the STARS members were poking around there too. She knew Wesker was up to something there, but couldn't figure out what exactly. This Steve boy must be where Wesker got the virus from and he plans to duplicate it. But why South America? Leon answered the question for her.

"We believe he's selling the virus to a drug lord named Javier. Why? We have no idea. But I'm sure that you wouldn't be able to get much of a high off of a drug that's slowly taking control over your body."

Ada recognized the name. "So what did you call me here for exactly? Although, I don't mind getting a drink with you, handsome." Ada said with a twinkle in her eye.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about Wesker or Javier and what they plan to do."

"He has a daughter," Ada rolled her eyes as if the information was nothing of importance. "She's suffering from some genetic disorder that's been passed down. Javier believes that the virus stops the spreading of her disease."

"Only to implant her with another virus," Leon finished. "And Wesker hopes to use the girl and Steve to his advantage and start some sort of revolution."

"I don't think Wesker would go that far," Ada chuckled.

"Well if he's giving her the virus, then Javier must have an antivirus to reverse it if everything goes wrong!" Leon thought out loud, excitement ringing in his voice. Everything was starting to piece together.

"It's not that easy, Leon," This was the first thing Ada had said sternly. "Wesker wouldn't make an anti-virus unless he planned to inject himself, but he's already got the tyrant virus in him, so he wouldn't risk it. The only chance you have at saving Steve before the virus fully develops is to get your hands on the anti-virus."

"But what if Wesker decided to make an anti-virus?" Leon asked hopefully. "Where would he keep it?"

"Probably with him at all time if he thought it was that important."

"But what if Chris and Jill manage to create the anti-virus on their own?"

A smile flashed across her face. "Then they would be beating Wesker as his own game."

"I have to tell Chris," Leon began to remove a small cell phone from his pocket. Ada only stared as Leon stood and as his groin hovered directly across the table from her.

"Jill! Watch out!" Chris shouted at the hunter reared back on his hind legs to make a fatal leap. As Jill jumped to her right, Chris began to shoot at the beast. He hit its arm, but against a hunter, a single handgun bullet wound was nothing. He cursed himself for not having any better weapons. It charged at the pair with its wild claws as they tried their best to escape. They managed to run inside the lab's experimentation room and slam the door behind them, but it's wouldn't hold for long. The beast would realize that a thin glass window was the only thing standing between it and it's prey.

"What should we do? We're not going to be able to hold it off with a handgun!" Jill yelled as she hastily reloaded.

But at that very moment, a ringing filled their ears. "Shit," Chris said as he patted down all his pockets in search of his phone.

"Really?" Jill said in disbelief. "Really? You're answering a phone call while were being attacked by a fucking hunter?"

"It's Leon," Chris said once he finally found his phone. "This better be good, Kennedy."

"Well don't you sound pleasant to hear from me," Leon said ignoring Chris' comment. "Look, Wesker has the anti-virus with him. He carries it with him at all times"

"Well that's great and all but Jill and I are kind of in a situation right now," Chris threw the phone to Jill. "Wesker has an anti-virus," he said to Jill as he reloaded and searched for anything in his pockets that might help them out.

"That's great that Wesker has the virus," Jill yelled into the receiver. "But we're not even going to try and get it from him. We found out there might be a way to make a cure, but we don't know if Rebecca can do it, or do we have all the directions to make it. We thing it's in Javier's office. Another thing, Javier was friends with Alexander Ashford before he died."

"Yes!" Chris yelled as Jill was unable to figure out what he could possibly be so excited about. But when she looked down into the palm of Chris' hand, a smile automatically drew onto her face. Two grenades sat in the palm of his hand.

"Throw one!" She cried, still on the phone with Leon.

"What on earth is going on over there?" Leon asked.

Chris pulled the pin and threw the grenade into a hole of the window. The grenade when completely unnoticed to the hunter who was too simple minded to realize that there was another way into the room. The two ran into the far corner of the room and braced themselves for the blow. The whole room shook and the glass window shattered into a million pieces. When the smoke finally cleared, Chris stepped towards the remains of the window. He found the hunter lying motionless on the ground with a pool of blood filling around it.

"Thank God," Jill sighed with relief. "Leon, we'll have to call you back." She hung up on Leon as a billion questions began flowing into Jill's ear.

"We need to get to Javier's office before another on of those things attack," Chris took his phone back from Jill. "or anything else comes back from the dead in his place."

They found an old stairwell that they hoped led up to the mansion, but it only led then into a dam that stood beneath the building. After what felt like hours of searching in the dark cold air, the two found a ladder.

"I think were in the basement," Chris said he climbed from the manhole. They had surfaced into a long concrete hallway. He figured that they were being monitored from all directions, but surprisingly enough there were no guards around.

"How many floors does this place have?" Jill gave Chris her hand to pull her up.

They made it down the hallway with both their guns held in front of them. They couldn't risk being sneaked up on again, but when they reached the end of the hallway Jill heard a faint voice.

"Do you hear that?" She asked holding her hand up to stop Chris in his tracks. They listened motionlessly until Chris could hear a fainting singing coming from inside the room to their right.

"I think there's a girl in there," Jill was astonished that they would keep a girl that sounded so young keep in such a dark place. Jill reached for the handle but realized that the door was locked with a thick bolt, as well as a heavy padlock.

"Hello?" Chris leaned up against the door. "Is anyone in there?" The voice suddenly stopped and said nothing.

"Lemme try," Jill rolled her eyes as if a woman's touch would do the trick. "Hello? Are you alright?" After about a minute of silence, a faint voice came from inside the door.

"Who is out there?" A smile ran across Jill's face and Chris groaned with disbelief. He hated it when Jill was right.

"I'm Jill and the man you heard was Chris. What are you doing down here?"

"My father locked me down here when some strange people entered the forest. Are you those people?" the girl hesitantly added. Father… Could Javier have a daughter?

"We must be, but were not here to hurt you. We're here to rescue you!" Jill felt Chris' wide eyes on her. She knew just as well that they didn't need a young girl to worry about.

"I'm sorry, but you won't be able to break the lock," the girl said in almost a cry. How could Javier keep his daughter locked up like this?

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here," Jill said as she aimed her run at the lock. "Stand away from the door, okay?"

"Like that is going to do anything," Chris rolled his eyes.

But to his surprise, the lock began to shatter and fall to the ground. Now all that was left was pushing the heavy bolt to the side. Jill decided to leave that to Chris so he could put his large muscles to use for once.

It took longer then either of them would have liked, but they eventually pried the door open. Chris hoped to God that no one was monitoring the security cameras. To not much of their surprise, a small girl emerged from inside her cell that looked no older than ten, but the room looked nothing like a cell. It looked exactly like a child's room would except there was a window missing and a security camera stood in the corner of the room with a blanket draped over it. So the girl knew they couldn't be seen.

"What is your name, sweetheart?" Jill asked as she got on one knee to match the girl's height. Jill stroked the girl's pigtails with gentle eyes.

"Manuela," Jill could tell by the look in her eyes that she liked Jill and that she already felt safe with her and Chris. "Why are you here?"

Chris was the next one to speak. "A friend of ours is very sick and we think that your daddy has the cure to it hidden in his office," Jill was impressed. "Can you take us there without him knowing?"

The girl looked between Chris and Jill with worried eyes, but soon enough a small smile etched itself into her cheeks. "Yes."

**A/N: So I'm hoping that I can finally start wrapping this story up. The character's paths are starting to intertwine. Dunno when the next chapter will be up, but stay tuned :) Reevviiewwww, please. **


	13. Nightmares

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it took nearly a month for me to update. I can't say I haven't had time to write because I've had all the time in the world. But just yesterday I beat RE3 (I'm working backwords, it seems) and it got me inspired to write my fic again. So yay XD I hope you enjoy this chapter. Once again, things are finally starting to come together.**

**Finding Steve : Chapter 13**

Chris and Jill followed close behind the girl as she slipped in and out of the shadows. Chris figured she was used to sneaking around all these cameras, probably just to get a midnight snack from the kitchen.

"Why were you locked in that room?" Chris asked as they climbed the stairs. "That can't be your bedroom."

But Manuela quickly put her finger to her lips and motioned the pair into the shadows. They watched from between the stairs as one of Javier's guards roamed aimlessly around the hall above them. When he was far enough down the hall, they slipped up to the next flight of stairs.

"No. I live upstairs with my father normally," Manuela answered when it was safe to speak. Zombies weren't known for having exceptional hearing. "But when he spotted you two in the forest, he sent me into my safe room."

"Imagine what he will be like when she brings her first boyfriend home," Chris mumbled under his breath.

"Where is your mother?" Jill softly asked, ignoring Chris.

The girl paused her steps for only a second before moving on, "She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"I don't know what happened to her. Father says she is dead, but I refuse to believe it. I feel somewhere inside my heart that she is still alive."

"Is your father the only family you have?"

The girl bit her lower lip. "I don't know."

"Seems like he likes keeping her away from everyone," A thought suddenly dawned on him. "The woman… that old crazy woman who was yelling at us. Jill, you said she said something about her daughter? Her daughter must be Manuela's mother!"

"So you think her grandmother is still alive in the village? Maybe even her mother?" Jill tried her best to keep her voice low.

"You've seen my grandmother?" This time the girl stopped completely, staring wide eyed at Chris and then back to Jill. Jill wanted to smack Chris for saying too much. "Do you know if my mother is alive?"

"We're not sure, but we can possibly take you to your grandmother if you would like as soon as we get out of this place," Chris placed a caring hand on the girl's shoulder. " I'm sure you would much rather live with her than your overprotective father."

Manuela smiled softly and spoke in the faintest of whispers. "Thank you for being so kind to me."

"That's our job," Jill replied with a smile. "Now, c'mon. Are we almost there?"

They had reached the top of the stairs and were now on what appeared to be the first floor of Javier's home. The staircase opened up into a large foyer that led to a sunroom in the middle of the house. Four hallways branched off the room. Thankfully, the house appeared to be deserted.

"Father's office is just down the hall from my room," Manuela whispered pointing to the northeast hallway. "But he always keeps it locked."

"We broke you out of that cell didn't we?" Chris said slipping in front of the girl. "I don't think a simple bedroom door will be a problem."

But the girl shook her head. "No. You need a special keycard to get in."

Chris stopped in his tracks with his hand on his head, frustrated. "You have got to be kidding me."

"And you're surprised by this why?" Jill chuckled. "He works with Umbrella. Of course he's going to have a special key card to get into his room."

"Yeah, but I was hoping this mission wouldn't be as annoying as the others. I mean, so far we haven't had much trouble. Just some zombies and that hunter."

"Not to mention the never ending hassle of finding a rare cure to one of Umbrella's viruses. That's nothing new either."

"True."

"Umm... excuse me," The girl was very confused by the pair's discussion. "I think Father keeps the keycard hidden in my room, but I don't know where."

"Well, that was easy enough," Chris shrugged as he shared a glance with Jill. "C'mon. Let's check it out."

Claire woke the next morning to the sound of rain pattering outside the window. She was hoping that she would wake up to Steve's face, but he hadn't shared a bed with her since that wonderful day only days ago. She couldn't believe it had finally happened. After months of emotions that had built up, the tension inside her had become unbearable. Who knew that a seventeen year old kid was the cure to all her problems? But since that fateful day, she noticed that Steve had been keeping his distance from her. No longer did he sneak a kiss when Leon's back was turned or could she sense his eyes on her while she walked around the apartment in only a towel. Something must have been bothering him. It was only a matter of time before she got it out of him.

She ran her fingers through her auburn hair before pulling herself out of bed. She didn't smell burnt eggs so Leon must have been out. That or he decided to get donuts instead from the bakery down the street. She opened the bedroom door expecting to find Steve sprawled out on the pull out couch, but to her surprise she found him sitting at the kitchen table. She noticed the huge bags under his grey eyes and his face paled than usual. His eyes were closed and his breathing was unsteady. But when she sat down across from him, he immediately sat up and tried his best to put a smile on his face.

"Hey, beautiful," He weakly grinned. "Sleep well?"

"Fine, but I would have slept better with you there," She hoped for a bit of color to enter his face again, but nothing happened. "Steve, are you alright?" She finally asked. "You don't look so good."

He shook his head with a chuckle, attempting to cover up his lie. "I'm fine, really. Just haven't been getting much sleep recently." He knew she wouldn't buy his lies for long, but hopefully long enough for him to regain control of himself. He knew the virus was winning but he would refuse to let it take his body over yet again. Not without a fight.

"Why not?" She asked. But even thought she was sitting right in front of him, she sounded so distant.

"Because I'm not sleeping with you," he watched as her face began to flush. "I get nightmares if you're not there." Well, that part of true at least. Somehow, having Claire next to him kept his nightmares at bay. He knew he had to tell her, but he couldn't just put her through that pain again. They were so happy without the virus taking over their lives. He wanted to murder Alfred and Alexia a thousand times to return that pain the twins had given him and Claire, but even then that wouldn't be enough. Either they had to find a cure for him, or he would have to leave Claire alone forever to prevent any more pain from coming to her. She had saved him so many times, it was the about time he returned the favor. He knew that Claire would never understand, but he knew that Chris would be there for her to help her through it. Speaking of Chris, they hadn't heard back from him in a while. Steve wondered what he was up to.

"Steve," He had been so lost in his thoughts, she could have been saying his name for hours and he still wouldn't have heard. "Steve, are you sure you're alright? You look so pale."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Maybe I'm just coming down with something," He regretted his choice of words immediately. By something, they both knew the T-Veronica virus. "I'm fine! I promise," he added to soften the lines on her forehead. He knew she wasn't stupid. It was impossible to lie to her about anything.

But as he stood up to head for the shower, he became lightheaded. He stumbled and grabbed the table for support.

"Steve, what was that? What's wrong" Claire had jumped out of her seat to support him.

"I'm fine, beautiful. Really," He laughed his stumble off. "Just tired that's all."

"Maybe you should get some sleep," She held his hand as she directed him towards his bed. His hand felt clammy to the touch.

"No, no, no…" He began to get more and more dizzy and sweat began to form on his lower lip. He felt a huge lump in his throat begin to form. He swallowed hard to keep it down, but the lump kept growing. He turned his head away from Claire to throw up all over the kitchen floor.

"I'm fine," he wanted to say, but the words refused to form. Everything went black as he collapsed.

"Steve!" Claire cried as she caught an unconscious Steve. She brought him to the floor stroking his face, hoping that he would snap out of it. "Steve. Wake up. Please wake up."

But the boy didn't move. He was barely even breathing. Claire began to panic. _Not again. I will not lose him again, _she yelled inside her head. But she felt completely helpless. She was no doctor. All she knew how to treat were cuts and scrapes. Not a virus that was poisoning her loved one.

"Somebody help!" She screamed while pulling Steve's body close, just like she had when she watched him die. "Leon! Leon, where are you!" She began to sob as she watched Steve's eyes flutter beneath his lids, unable to wake him from his nightmare even though she was holding him while she slept.

"Claire!" She heard a distance voice from down the hall. "Claire, it's Leon. What's going on?" He was standing next to the door now, digging his pockets for his keys. She couldn't leave Steve even to open a door.

"It's Steve. He's sick. He passed out on the floor," She cried. "I can't do this again, Leon. I can't let him die."

The door flew open. "Everything will be fine," Leon threw a grocery bag on the couch and began to dial quickly into his phone. "I'm calling Rebecca then I'm calling Chris."

"We need to get him to a hospital or he's going to die!" Claire buried herself into Steve's chest. "We don't have time for call Rebecca."

"Claire, will you just calm down?" Leon raised his voice. "I'm trying to think….. Hello, Rebecca Chambers?"

Claire would bring Steve to the hospital if it was the last thing she did, but she couldn't move. It was as if her body shut down, unable to come to her senses because Steve was in trouble.

"Leon," A familiar voice came from the hallway. "I can take them. The boy needs to be stabilized until the rookie can get here." Ada poked her head in. What was even more surprising about her other than her visit was the fact that she wasn't wearing her elegant red dress. Instead, she wore a knee length black skirt, a red blouse, black jacket, and long black boots. She almost looked… normal.

"You!" Claire yelled out as if she saw a ghost. The two had never gotten along. "Leon, what is _she_ doing here?"

Leon just waved them away while he talked. He slammed his bedroom door.

"We need to hurry or there won't be much more time before he transforms again. Maybe even more powerful than before." Ada pushed her sunglasses back into her hair as she reached for Steve's body.

"No!" Claire shook her head, pulling Steve away from Ada. "This is some trick just so you can use Steve for your own reasons. Maybe even bring him back to Wesker, you bitch."

"Claire! Go with Ada! We don't have much time!" Leon yelled out the door before slamming it again.

The two women met eyes. Claire had to accept that Ada was going to help them out, this once at least. Or maybe it was Leon's heart that was doing all the talking and trusting for him (maybe even somewhere else). But at this point, she had no other choice. They had to save Steve, and if that meant trusting Ada, then so be it.

**A/N: I don't exactly remember Ada's part in RE2 since I've 1) only played Darkside Chronicles and 2) just stared RE2 so hopefully I got it sorta right. But correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, I like pointing out the ironic things about the games, which is why I had Chris and Jill have this strange discussion in front of Manuela. But I'm excited because this story is starting to come to an end! BTW, I've had another fic in the making but I probably won't work full force on it until after this one is done. All I'm going to say is that it's a humor fic. Anyway. Reeevvieewww! :)**


	14. A Call of Distress

**A/N: Hey all. So I updated not as soon as I would have liked, but at least I updated. Anyway. Enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 13 : Finding Steve**

The women drove in silence to the hospital. Ada drove Leon's Jeep through the busy streets of DC while Claire sat in the backseat holding an unconscious Steve in her arms. Ada watched Claire through the rearview, but every time Claire noticed, Ada's eyes went back to the road, and Claire stared out the window. She watched as the rain drops raced across the glass, holding back her own tears. She wouldn't cry in front of Ada. She wouldn't give Ada the pleasure of watching her suffer.

Ada on the other hand had more than just saving the boy on her mind. One thing that would not stop bothering her was how normal she looked. She longed to put on the red dress she had neatly stuffed in her bag. She thought about Leon and the real reason to why she had agreed to meet with him. Somehow, he managed to track her down. Leon working for the government really did have its perks. Of course she was reluctant to meet up with the man for reasons other than fear of blowing her cover. She had missed Leon since their last meeting in Raccoon City. There was something about the rookie cop she just couldn't ignore. But he was no longer the rookie she remembered. He was a federal agent working for the president himself. But she knew that Leon could do so much more than just be a lap dog for the government, which is why she agreed to meet with him and discuss the boy.

She could have slapped herself for being so foolish to accept his request of going to a hotel for the night. For some strange reason, Leon couldn't go back to his apartment so he had to rent a room. She wasn't worried about her own safety because she knew damn well she could take care of herself, but she had no where to stay for the night anyway. She figured she could get some sleep knowing there was someone she could trust sleeping next to her. But of course, things got out of hand and maybe things happened Ada should have wished had never happened, but she was glad they did. She hadn't been able to feel close to anyone since John, even if they're relationship was a fraud. But with Leon, things were different. She liked having him follow her close behind like a dog. Always loyal, always loving. That was Leon Scott Kennedy for you. The perfect gentleman.

The night they had spent together was quant. At first, she kept watch of him at all times in the corner of her darks eyes, but as the night progressed, she had her eyes on him for a much different reason. She quickly slipped in and out of the shower, and came out to find Leon lying half awake on the bed, shirtless and in a pair of athletic shorts. She had known what he was planning from the beginning, but knew that he was reluctant to do so. Even when Ada lied next to him, he refused to touch her. He didn't want to lose her again. So they watched one another with greedy eyes until somehow, Ada admitted defeat and found herself unable to let Leon out of her grasp.

"We're here," Ada said parking in front of the emergency entrance of the hospital. She helped Claire bring Steve into the hospital even though she knew Claire didn't want Ada to be anywhere near him. Once he was put in a room, the women were asked to wait outside.

"He's not dangerous! Just sick. Please help him!" Claire yelled down the hall as she watched helplessly as doctors ran in and out of his room, terrified that he would cause another outbreak much like the Raccoon City innocent. As she cried out again, it was as if every door around her closed, completely blocking her out. She stood alone in the bare hallway with Ada.

"Claire, calm down," Ada offered Claire her hand but Claire only glared at her and sat on another bench down the hall. She couldn't stop herself from crying this time. She was so angry with herself for letting him get sick. She should have been paying attention. She knew the virus wasn't cured, but she was just so happy to have Steve back in her life that she ignored the possibilities the virus taking over again.

"Leon didn't want to tell you this, but your brother and that Valentine girl have been looking for a cure for your friend," Ada spoke from down the hall. Claire tried her best to ignore Ada even though the mention of her brother brought some hope and relief to her. "It's only going to make you feel worse if you keep it all in."

"Why do you care?" Claire suddenly snapped. "Since when do you care about anyone but yourself?"

She heard Ada sigh and her heels walking across the cold floor. "Because," Ada took a seat next to Claire. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

Claire turned her head away from Ada. She didn't need her sympathy. "I once had someone I cared about as well, but of course, Umbrella had to take him away from me as well. It's sad to realize that a corporation that could do so much good for people has only destroyed them. I thought I had found love again, but it seems like Umbrella is always standing in the way of me finding happiness..."

Somehow, Ada had managed to put everything Claire had been feeling into words. Was it even possible for Ada to have a heart? To care about anyone but herself?

Ada turned to Claire trying her best to control the tears that were somehow building in her eyes. "I really do love him, but I can't stop hurting him. I feel like I'm more of a monster to him than any of Umbrella's creations," Even without saying his name, Claire knew she had been talking about Leon. Ada began to stand to take her seat again down the hall. "Don't let Umbrella take Steve away from you like they took him away from me."

"So this is what your actual room looks like?" Chris locked the door behind them once they were all in Manuela's actual bedroom. "So where would Daddy hide something important in his daughter's bedroom?"

"What's something that you care about a lot?" Jill asked pushing back the curtains to see if anything hid behind them.

"You mean like my teddy bear?" The young girl carefully took her stuffed bear off her bed and held it delicately in her arms.

"We're gutting the bear I guess," Chris mumbled.

"Chris, no!" Jill snapped.

"Not quite," Jill softened her voice again. "What's something that has a connection to both of you? Something that you know you would never leave without. Something that he knows you will never throw away?"

The girl hesitated before reaching for the framed picture of a dark haired woman. She slowly handed it to Jill as if she was terrified Jill might run off with it.

"Is this your mother?" Jill asked taking the picture from the girl's small hands. The girl nodded. "She's very beautiful. I can see where you get your beauty from." The girl smiled shyly.

Jill flipped the frame over several times but found nothing usual about it. It was a simple picture frame. She then removed the back of the frame, only to find exactly what they had been looking for.

"Bingo," Chris said from over her shoulder.

They began to head back down the hall to Javier's study when they were greeted by a familiar and bone chilling laugh.

"Jill, take Manuela inside the room and look for a way out," Chris quickly mumbled under his breath. "I'll be fine."

The pair stared at each other for only a second, but that single second told so many things. Jill resisted the urge to stand on her toes and kiss Chris on the cheek, in fear that she would never be able to do it again. But instead, she merely nodded while locked on his heavy eyes and slipped into Javier's study using the keycard.

As the door closed behind them, Wesker emerged from around the corner.

"You won't find anything in there," Wesker casually leaned up against the wall. "There is no anit-virus."

"Enough games, Wesker," Chris demanded with his gun drawn. "We know there is an anti-virus."

"That boy should be dead soon enough. Poor little Claire, " Wesker laughed. "And poor little Chris. He failed yet again." Chris took a step forward.

"I'm not going to kill you," Wesker sighed. "Pity, I know. Having your death on my hands would be better than anything. But I figure your time will come soon enough. You're like moths to a flame. Your curiosity will be the death of you and that's one less mess I have to clean up."

A laugh left Wesker's lips as he began to back up. "Until we meet again, Chris." He slipped down the hall again with amazing speed and out of sight.

Chris forced himself not to go after Wesker but instead into Javier's study. The room was covered in dark wood paneling with a large window on the back wall. Several heads of game lined the paneling such as bears, deer, even a tiger. Manuela sat on the large desk swinging her feet around beneath her as Jill picked at the lock of a safe that was hidden behind a large picture of the village.

"What did Wesker want?" Jill asked as she carefully picked at the lock.

"He says our curiosity is going to be the death of us," Chris took a seat next to Manuela. "My guess is that he thinks the anti-virus won't work."

"Well, at this rate we can only hope it does," with one last turn, the lock gave a satisfying pop. Jill smiled. "This better be it."

Chris swallowed hard. What if the anti-virus wasn't even in the safe, or what if there was no such thing? Like Jill said, he could only hope that not only that would work, but that it even existed.

Jill took a deep breath before pulling open the safe. There was no small vile filled with serum. There was no pile of cash or gems. No syringe. There was nothing inside expect a mere piece of ripped paper. Jill would have thought the safe was empty if she hasn't slipped her hand inside.

"Wait," Chris pulled out another piece of paper he had stuffed into his pack while they were in the lab downstairs. This must have been the other half of the letter. Chris fit the pieces perfectly together and continued reading from where the other scrap had left off.

"… _For the safety of your own family, I have included the directions on how to create the anti-virus yourself. Of course it will be difficult, but nothing a skilled chemist cannot do. I hope that knowing a cure exist allows you to sleep better at night. I know that I have knowing my daughter will be safe if she takes her experiments a bit too far. I wish you the best of luck. God bless._

_Sincerely,_

_Alexander Ashford"_

The bottom of the letter was filled with complicated directions of how to create the anti-virus. They had finally found the cure!

"So was Alexander the one who gave Javier the virus to begin with?" Jill asked reading through the letter a second time.

"No, that man we ran into in the hallway wanted him to buy it…" Manuela began to blush. "I overheard my father and him talking…"

"Alexander must have given him the Progenitor virus and then immediately regretted it. They must have stayed in touch and Alexander warned Javier of the T-Veronica's power, but he didn't care," Chris stared at Manuela's innocent face. "He wanted to save his daughter's life no matter the risk, not even if it endangered her in the process."

"So, he must have been getting the Veronica virus from another source before Wesker showed up," Jill began to lock up the safe again.

"Black market more than likely. You can find any one of Umbrella's diseases there," Chris suggested.

"Instead of listening to Alexander's warning about the virus, it only pushed Javier's curiosity even more. He figured that Manuela would be just fine if he had the anti-virus on hand."

Suddenly, Chris felt his cell phone vibrating deep in his pocket. It was Leon.

"Leon, great news. We found the anti-virus!" Chris smiled at Jill, looking forward to hearing the joy in Leon's voice knowing that he would no longer have to babysit Chris' little sister and her boyfriend.

"Chris, we have a problem," Chris' face fell when he heard the seriousness in Leon's voice. "Steve is sick. The virus is starting to fight back again. You need to get that anti-virus to Rebecca as soon as possible. I already called her and she'll be waiting for you at the heliport in DC."

"We're on our way," Chris gestured the girls towards the door.

"Hurry, Chris. I didn't want to tell Claire, but I don't know if he's going to make it this time." Chris could hear a car door slam in the background and the start of an engine.

"He'll make it. He's made it this far. He may not seem like it, but he's a fighter, and he wouldn't do that to Claire. Also, Leon, let Rebecca know she's going to have to have her chemistry set on hand, and that Jill and I have faith in her."

"Let's hope that having faith will do the trick."

**A/N: So ****I can't decide if I was my story to completely ignore **_**The Darkside Chronicles**_** or to lead into it. In other words, I don't know what to do with Manuela… Oh wells. I'm sure I'll think of something. Unless you guys have some suggestions for me which are always appreciated. Anywho. Hope you enjoyed and rrreeevviiewww! Please and thankyou! :)**


	15. Lost Love

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it took me so long to update. Lots has happened since my last update. I turned 18, went a few places, saw some old friends, and I'm leaving for college TOMORROW (holy crap!)! If all goes as planned the next chapter should be up very soon (maybe even later today). I hope you enjoy this one. More LeonxAda :) Enjoy!**

**Chapter 15 : Finding Steve**

Chris, Jill, and Manuela slipped their way back out of the mansion and through the lab. While Jill kept Manuela close at her side, Chris looked around the skeleton of the lab in the faint, flickering florescent lights only to find that the body of the hunter they had encountered earlier was missing. _Shit,_ Chris scowled. _Just our luck. _Chris could only hope that the hunter had wandered off and died, but there was no trail of blood to wear it could have dragged itself. Chris made sure to reload his gun while he had the chance.

The three worked their way down the dark cave corridor and into the mouth of the cave where Wesker held Steve for all that time. The sun had already begun to set. They needed to get back to the village before the sky changed from a deep indigo to pitch black. Chris thought of Claire, wondering how she was holding out. She was strong, but her emotions always seemed to get the best of her. She would be alright, Chris had to remind himself time after time. Everything would work out in the end. It always did.

"Chris, look," Jill said sharply, bringing his attention back to the task ahead. She pointed out in the dirt with her flashlight what looked like footprints. One footprint was clear as day, but the other dragged lazily behind it. They looked around and noticed there were several of these tracks. Some made by bloody bare feet, others pressed into the dirt with heavy trackless shoes, worn from years of aimless wondering.

"Zombies," Chris muttered under his breath. "They must have wandered too far and are now headed toward the village."

"Or Javier sent them there. And I'm sure you noticed that hunter's body was missing back in the lab," Jill turned to him. Chris nodded solemnly. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us." Jill pulled Manuela closer to her.

They pushed through the forest forcing themselves to continue along. They needed to get to the chopper as fast as possible, not only to help Steve but to save their own skins. There was nothing worse then being lost in a jungle once night began to fall. The moon may have helped them see their way, but they would never know due to the thick canopy of leaves above them. Every now and then they would hear the heavy rustle of leaves, causing Jill and Chris to draw their guns, but nothing emerged from the shadows. They pressed on with sharp eyes and ears, and Jill kept Manuela close by her side.

But suddenly, the girl began to cough violently.

"Manuela?" Jill asked kneeling on one knee in the dirt with one hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you alright?" Chris kept his eyes on the area around them, circling the girls, hoping that they could get moving as soon as possible. Even though he fought creatures that went bump in the night all the time, something about the dark always kept him on edge, maybe even frightened him a little.

"I'm ….. alright," She coughed through her frail fingers. "Just tired from walking so much."

"Maybe we should rest for a bit," Jill suggested. "We have been walking for a while."

"We don't have time to rest, Jill," Chris demanded, pulling Jill to her feet. "We need to get to the chopper."

"No, it's alright," Manuela coughed a few more times before settling down. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. But Jill knew the girl was far from alright. She noticed the girl was still shaking and that there was a slight smear of blood on the back of her hand before wiping it onto her dress.

"Sweetheart," Jill said softly. She could no longer stop herself from asking. "What has your daddy been doing to you?"

But before the girl could answer, they heard another rustle in the trees.

"We need to keep moving," Chris said slipping his fingers into Manuela's. He looked like the right father this girl should have, not the kind that experiments on his own daughter. "We're nearly to the village."

They finally reached the edge of the jungle, but instead of finding an empty village with only the sounds of its people getting ready for bed like they had hoped, they found the paths laced with zombies.

"Shit," Chris whispered. "How are we going to get around all them?" The chopper was past the village and in an empty field. How could they possibly get all the way to the chopper without being mauled by hundreds of zombies? They even heard the unsatisfying shrill of a hunter, maybe even more than one.

"Why can't we just run past them? It's not like they're fast or anything," Jill suggested.

Chris shook his head. "But we don't know the path and we have to follow a boardwalk. Falling into filthy monster infested water is something I would like to avoid at all costs."

Manuela finally cut in. "Behind each house there is a dock for fishing boats. If we jump across them like stepping stones, we can reach the other side without being seen."

Jill and Chris stared at the little girl. They had almost forgotten she was there. Jill began to beam at the girl. "That's a great idea, sweetheart."

"Are you sure every house has a dock though?" Chris asked trying to find one in the moonlight. He thought about falling into the dark water below them and shuttered.

"Positive," The girl shivered slightly, but they were in the middle of the jungle. It wasn't cold at all. "My mother said she used to jump across them all the time when she was a little girl."

The group inched their way towards the village, slipping into the shadows to avoid being seen by the undead. They ducked behind the first house and sure enough, there was a dock with river water lapping around it, but it looked like it hadn't been used in years. There were even some boards missing. Chris kept asking himself if it was safe, but why should he worry? He's run along worn floorboards most of his life.

Jill was first to jump across the water. She leaped silently to the other side and landed softly. She glanced back once and kept going. Manuela went second and then Chris. Jill kept her eyes on her feet making sure that she landed firmly on each dock. She slipped once but pulled herself back upright. She knew Chris noticed and was worried she might slip again. But when she reached the last dock, his fear became a reality. She lost her balance and with a splash, feel into the water beneath them.

When Leon arrived at the hospital, he found Ada sitting outside Steve's room. Her eyes were closed and she was slouched in the bench. Leon smiled to himself. It was very rare to see Ada not only so vulnerable, but so peaceful. She had already been wide awake by the time he woke up after the night they spent together. He was just grateful to finally see her so exposed. But the sight didn't last for long. When Leon took one step close to the bench, Ada's eyes snapped open and she sat up, acting as if she hadn't dozed off.

"Hey there, handsome," She removed her sunglasses from her forehead and pushed her dark hair back with them again.

"How long have you been here?" He asked unable to take his eyes off Ada.

She paused before answering. "A while." She said nothing more of the matter.

"Where's Claire?" Leon asked changing the subject.

"She's inside the kid's room," She gestured towards the door across the hall. "Somehow she managed to convince them to let her in even though she's not family. Probably since he's has no family of his own anyway."

"In other words, you managed to pull a few strings." Ada said nothing, but Leon could have sworn he saw a faint smile on her face before she turned away. Leon glanced into the room through the small window. Claire sat next to Steve with his hand in hers. His face was still as pale as a ghost and his eyes remained closed. He was also hooked up to several monitors and medicines.

"So any news about Steve?" He took a seat next to Ada.

"He seems stable for the time being, but Chris needs to get a move on if they want to save him. I don't know how much longer he's going to last."

"Hopefully long enough for Chris and Jill to get here," Leon said hopefully. "Rebecca should be meeting up with them right when they land, and hopefully she'll know what she's doing."

"It's all a matter of hope, isn't it. No definites," Ada stared off, thinking deeply to herself.

"Well, in times like this hope is all we have," Leon glanced over in her directions. "And we need to learn to stick together because we're all each other has anymore."

He knew his words meant more to her than just a hopeful message. He looked for some change in her expression, but nothing happened. It was as blank as always. That's what frustrated him about Ada more than her always running off: he never knew how she felt, about anything. The two said nothing for several minutes listening to the sounds to footsteps down the halls and beeps from monitors. Leon heard a faint mumble across the hall from outside the door. Claire must have been talking to Steve, even though she didn't know if he could hear her.

"Why are you being nice to Claire?" Leon finally asked in a soft whisper. Ada continued to stare down the hall, looking away from Leon. "I know neither of you have been very fond of each other since Raccoon City. It's just nice seeing two of my favorite girls getting along."

"Your favorite girls, huh?" She spoke distantly with her eyes still away from Leon. Silence filled the air once again until Ada spoke so faintly that Leon almost didn't catch her words, "I guess because I know how she feels."

Leon felt his heart drop. He didn't know if she was talking about John or himself. But she didn't actually care for John, did she? Wasn't it all a cover up to get into Umbrella? Did she even care about Leon or was that all fake too? Those very thoughts had been running through his brain endlessly since Raccoon City.

"I guess I know how it feels for Umbrella to steal someone away from you that you love," Ada continued as if she was thinking out loud, as if Leon wasn't even in the room. Once again, he felt like she was so exposed, so vulnerable. He felt like he was finally getting to see what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. "Even if it is your own fault you're always running about from them."

She finally turned to face Leon. Tears had built in her dark eyes. She did care about him. She would have opened herself up to him like this if she didn't. It wasn't much, but for Leon, it felt like Ada had just shed several layers from the thick wall she had always kept around herself. He finally knew then that she did love him, and she always had.

"Ada," He felt himself reaching for her, placing his worn hand on her cheek. Normally, she wouldn't have let him touch her so delicately, but instead she closed her eyes and embraced the moment.

"Leon, I'm so sorry," she whispered. A single tear ran down her cheek, but his thumb was there to wipe it off. He slipped his other hand on her other cheek, cupping her angled face in his hands. He whispered her name another time causing her to open her eyes and locked with his. There were so many things on his tongue that he wanted to say, but he knew his eyes had already said everything.

He began to lean forward still holding her face as if she was a porcelain doll, but still tight enough that he knew she couldn't slip out of sight. His lips brushed against hers and felt her quiver as if she had never been touched so softly before. But before he could deeply kiss her, knowing that she loved him too, the door across the hallway swung open.

The two quickly, yet reluctantly pulled away from each other. Claire stood in the doorway, her face filled with sheer terror. "Something is happening to Steve."

**A/N: Oh noes! Something is happening to Steve! I'm actually very happy about my LeonxAda bit in this chapter. Anywho. Review and lemme know what you think. Next chapter will hopefully be up soon! :) **


	16. Sweet Revenge

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been so busy with college and writer's block that it's been impossible to write. Although, I would have had this chapter up seriously over a month ago, but it got totally erased due to my carelessness. So sorry for the wait. I will admit that the second half of this chapter isn't nearly as good as it was before it got erased, but I hope it's still good. Lemme know what you think! :)**

**Finding Steve : Chapter 16**

"Jill!" Chris screamed. He didn't care if the zombies had heard him. The splash would have already done that. He was more concerned about pulling Jill out of the rapids. He had watched her nearly die so many times and he wasn't going to let it happen again. He rushed past Manuela and landed on the last platform before she had even reached the third to last one. Jill had managed to grab onto the leg of the dock and hugged it with all her strength. The current was much stronger than it looked.

"Jill! Grab onto my hand!" Chris reached out to pull her up, but she refused to let go in fear that the current would take her away. "Trust me, please! I won't let you go!"

His voice was so sure and she had trusted her life with him so many times in the past, she hadn't even hesitated for a moment before tearing her arm from the pole and threw it up to Chris. He grabbed hold of her slippery hand and refused to let anything tear her away from him. With a grunt, he pulled her to safety against the heavy current.

She lied on the worn wood, coughing up water. "Are you alright?" Chris asked, kneeling at her side.

"I'm alright," She gave him a weak smile. Just barely she could hear the moan and groans of the zombies over the roar of the water. "We need to move."

Someone had begun to bang on the backdoor the house they stood next to.

"They're coming!" Manuela cried and grabbed hold of Chris' hand. He helped Jill quickly stand with his free hand. They jumped across the last platform and into the dirt. All they had to do now was run up the hillside and down the road until they found the helicopter.

The door behind them swung open and a screaming elderly woman emerged from the house.

"Manuela!" the woman shrieked. Her cries almost sounded of relief.

"Grandmother!" Manuela cried and tried to run to the woman, but Chris caught her around the waist.

"No!" He yelled. He knew they would be surrounded in a matter of moments if they didn't keep moving.

"Manuela!" The woman cried again holding her arms out, welcoming her granddaughter into an embrace.

"Grandmother!" Manuela had heavy tears streaming down her face as she tore at Chris' grip.

But before the woman could reach her granddaughter, a hunter emerged from inside the house. With one swift moment of its claws, the woman was never able to scream out in terror. Her body toppled into the water in pieces.

"No!" A bone chilling scream rose from Manuela. So much sorrow was filled in the girl's voice. She tore at Chris' grip, trying to reach the mangled remains of her grandmother, probably the only person other than her mother who truly loved her.

Chris' threw the girl over his left shoulder and began to run up the hillside with the hunter hot on their heels. Somewhere Jill was shooting at it. He turned around while he slipped his right hand into his holster for his handgun and began shooting at the monster. He noticed it was already badly wounded, the same one they had encountered before.

"This time when I kill you, stay dead!" Chris fired several bullets into the skull of the creature while Jill shot at its heart. Finally, the creature fell into the water and like Manuela's grandmother, the current took it away. Fighting the hunter had only slowed them up. The zombies were nearly on top of them now and Manuela cried hysterically on his shoulder.

"Jill, take Manuela to the chopper. I'll hold them off!" He yelled.

"Are you crazy?" She cried as she began to shoot at the zombies. "They'll eat you alive! They're too many of them!"

"Take her to the chopper!" He yelled again, but this time he felt the girl shaking as she coughed violently in his ear. He set her down and watched as the girl toppled over coughing thick blood into her hands. Something had been terribly wrong with this girl all along.

"I can help you," She finally said. Her voice was eerily calm. "If I don't receive my treatment everyday, my illness begins to take over, but I've learned to control it a little."

The frail little girl in the white dress stood on the hilltop with her eyes closed facing the moon. She began to sing softly to herself. Suddenly, her eyes began to glow a faint light and her arms began to glow read as if they were burning. Suddenly, a burst of fire flew from the girl's arm and into the army of zombies below them.

"I'll hold them off," She yelled. "You two need to get out of here!"

"But – " Jill protested. She couldn't possibly leave this girl behind after taking care of her as her own.

"GO!" The girl cried as a blast of fire ran down her arm and into the village. The houses were burning. Chris and Jill watched in awe for one last second before making their way down the hillside. They ran down the road away from the fire and towards the empty field. Relief swept over Chris when he saw the chopper only a hundred years or so away. They were finally going home.

But then they reached the chopper they found a familiar yet not so friendly face waiting for them. The pair stopped in a halt.

His name was all they could say. "Wesker."

"What going on?" Leon jumped to his feet and headed into the room.

"I don't know," Claire was on the verge of tears. She hated watching him be in so much pain. "He started having convulsions."

"The virus seems to be getting stronger," Ada slipped in the room behind Leon. "Sedation won't be able to stop the pain much longer."

They all watched as Steve thrashed around in his sleep as if he was having a nightmare. His eye lids fluttered and his eyes darted around beneath them.

"Well, Chris is on his way with the anti-virus," Leon's eyes moved from the several monitors around Steve's bed to the steady stream of tears leaving Claire's eyes. "We just have to keep him under control long enough."

Claire took her seat back in the chair that sat next to the bed. She slipped her fingers into his clammy hands in hopes of calming the nightmares in Steve's head. He was doing all this for her. Fighting the virus because he loved Claire. She wanted to be strong like him and fight back her tears, but that battle was already won. She wiped her nose on her sleeve before leaning forward to Steve's ear.

Her lips brushes his ear every so softly as she spoke three simple words. His body suddenly began to shutter and spasm once more, but when his body came to a halt, a single raspy word emerged from his dry lips: "Claire."

Wesker's laugh rose through the air and sent a shiver down Chris' spine. He and Jill both raised their guns, ready for anything Wesker would throw at them. "Really, Chris," Wesker had his attention focused on his hand, as if he was examining his nails through the leather glove. "You thought you could sneak away with the anti-virus like a little rat?"

Wesker was blocking the copter and Chris and Jill both knew there wasn't much chance that they could sneak past him. _We have to distract him_, Chris thought. But when Jill made a slight step to her right, he knew that she was literally one step ahead of him.

"Why do you care if we save Steve or not? Umbrella's already turned him into one of their experiments. What more could you possibly want out of him?

Wesker laughed again, his arms crossed across his chest. His red eye shone brightly from behind his black sunglasses directly at Chris. "The boy means nothing to me, and he should mean nothing to you. It's that sister of yours I would be worried about."

_Claire._

"You Redfields are all the same. You're like a pair of rats, scrounging for garbage, looking for trouble. Beckoning the cat to come. Medaling around in business that isn't meant to be medaled in. Curiosity will be the death of both of you. If it wasn't for her curiosity, Chris, neither you or your sister would be in this mess. "

Wesker was right. If it hadn't been for Chris, Claire wouldn't have gone looking for him in Raccoon City. If she hadn't gone look for him, she wouldn't have gotten dragged to Rockfort Island. They wouldn't have been in this mess if he had just told her to stay put and take care of her like an older brother should. He had failed her.

"Any minute that boy is going to destroy her," Wesker continued. "And you will have to live knowing you couldn't save her in time from the monster that _she fell in love with_." He talked about love as if it were a poison.

Chris glanced out of the corner of his blue eye and notice that Jill was no longer at his side. He wondered his Wesker had noticed she was gone or if he merely didn't care. His eyes were focused on Chris, watching his every move, everything breathe leave his chest. Jill was off somewhere watching from afar.

It was almost as if Wesker was reading Chris' mind. "Don't think your little mouse is going to get away that easily."

Jill automatically ducked behind the rock she hid behind. There was never any hiding from Wesker, but she need to build a distraction so Chris could get to the copter. She took a deep breath before slowly poking out from behind her rock, knowing that it was an act of suicide. In a flash, Wesker was at her side.

"There you are, little mouse." Jill began to shoot at Wesker, but he dodged every bullet. He threw a punch into her gut sending her flying.

Chris took his chance is ran towards the copter. He was nearly in the cockpit when Wesker appeared out of nowhere, "Not so fast."

Subconsciously Chris threw a punch, but Wesker was much too fast. He grabbed Chris' forearm and pulled him over his shoulder with such force that it sent Chris out of the chopper and to the ground in a painful thud.

Jill gasped for breath, regaining the air she had lost when she felt hard to the ground. She quickly realized the game Wesker was playing. He was toying with them! Like a cat with his meal before the kill. He didn't care if they had the anti-virus. Wesker didn't want them to reach Steve in time, so he could have his fun with them and didn't have to watch them succeed. Jill had to get to the chopper and get them out of here. Wesker wasn't going to quit until they were dead.

Wesker had Chris pinned to ground with his knees and his hands around Chris' neck. His red eyes glowed like fire and his smile was defined by revenge and angst. Chris was completely useless under Wesker's strength. He could feel his breath leaving him and his blood pumping towards his brain.

Jill somehow slipped behind the chopper and out of Wesker's view. If she could just get a clear shot, they might be able to get out of here sooner than later. But if she missed, Chris would be dead. She prayed that she wouldn't miss while she aimed towards Wesker's hands wrapped around Chris' neck. Without another hesitation, she fired.

She watched in horror as blood began to pour from Chris' neck… She had killed him. She had killed her best friend, her partner, the only man she truly cared about. But instead of Chris' cry of pain, Wesker's cry of shock filled the air. Miraculously, Jill had made a clear shot into Wesker's hand. She couldn't decide if either he or she was more surprised by the bullet. Wesker recoiled back, holding his bloody hand to his chest. Chris had no time to hesitate before he hooked his foot behind Wesker's knee, knocking him to the ground. Chris quickly pulled himself to his feet and without a second thought, sent a single bullet into Wesker's brain.

The bullet wouldn't kill him, but would buy them just enough time to quickly take off before Wesker could climb to his feet. They left the jungle without a glance back, but Chris could have sworn he heard the sound of mad laughter coming from the ground below.

**A/N: Dunno when the next chapter will be up, so bear with me (If you didn't notice... Wesker is really gay in this chapter... Didn't mean for that to happen but i guess it works out XD)This story will be coming to an end soon, so I just wanted to thank everyone for all the reviews and faves. Your kind words mean so much to me. Thanks for being so awesome. Do me another favor and revviewww! :P - Much love, Mel**


	17. Discovery

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it took me over two months to update, I've just had horrible writer's block , been busy with school, and actually playing the RE series. Chapter 18 will be coming soon since I'm like already half way done with it, but I'll get more into that later. Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 17 : Finding Steve**

Rebecca stood at the heliport, twiddling her thumbs as she paced back and forth. Chris and Jill had sent her a message what felt like hours ago that they were on their way. Did something happen or go terribly wrong? She pushed her worries into the back of her mind. She subconsciously pulled her bag off her back and checked her supplies for the third time. Jill had told her all the components she needed and the little direction that some man named Alexander Ashford had left for them. She hoped it would be enough to save Steve (who was rather cute) but she knew that flushing the virus out of his body would take much more than her training prepared her for.

She thought of Richard who she had treated after he had bitten by that snake back during the mansion incident. He would have been just fine if he hadn't gotten himself killed… She couldn't think of him. It hurt too much. Not only was he her partner, but she cared about him…maybe more than either of them had realized. Instead, she thought of Billy who she knew would just add to her confusion. Where was he? What was he up to? That horrible night of the train felt like so long ago when really it was not even six months ago. She had lost too many teammates she cared about; she didn't need Steve's death on her hands even if she didn't know much of him (despite the fact that he was adorable).

But she would save him. He would be alright and there would now be a known cure for the T-Veronica virus all thanks to Rebecca Chambers. Everything would turn out alright. She heavily sighed, blowing her hair out of her eyes. It just had to.

The heavy sound of a thick wind filled the air. The windows around her rattled against the air pressure. She suddenly felt her spirits rise. They were back. Rebecca ran outside on the edge of the pad to meet them. Chris waved from inside the chopper while Jill landed it.

"Rebecca!" Chris said throwing his arms around the frail girl as soon as she jumped out of the copter. He was so glad to see her. "You ready to get to work?"

"Yes, sir!" She said with a smile. "Jill!"

"Nice to see you too, Becca," Jill embraced the young girl.

"C'mon," Chris gestured the girls to follow him inside. "We've got a virus to destroy!"

"Now that's something I would _love_ to hear more often." Jill smirked.

The group made their way towards the clinic where any of Rebecca's additional medical supplies waited.

"Do you have the slide?" Rebecca asked carefully placing her back on the counter. Jill pulled a small microscope slide from her pack labeled "_AA971_". Chris was thankful that he slipped the slide into his pocket before they met up with the hunter.

"More importantly, do you have the antidote?" Chris asked watching as the young medic fidgeted with the microscope.

"We'll soon find out," Rebecca let out a sigh as she flipped on the monitor. The slide beneath the eyepiece appeared on the screen to her right.

Rebecca squinted a pale blue eye and peaked through the eyepiece.

"So I managed to duplicate the virus from the blood we drew from Steve before," She brought the slide into focus. It was just a normal image of a couple thousand of blood cells. "It was difficult, but somehow I did it."

"Then why did you need Alexia's slide?" Chris asked pointing to the one

"Because I wanted to compare Steve's blood to Alexia's. I'm assuming this sample was taken after she died so if his sample is anything like hers, we might have a problem. If we can't fix him now, we still have another fifteen years to go before the virus fully develops. So I thought we might need Alexia's blood as something to refer back on if need be."

Chris ran the theory through his head again and again. Rebecca wanted to see if there actually was any hope for Steve. If the virus in his blood was anything like Alexia's, they would have a lot more work ahead of them then they realized.

"What we're looking at now is Steve's blood," Rebecca fumbled in her pack as she talked. "It looks completely normal… Until you add the virus."

She pulled out a small vile. "This is how Steve's blood reacts to the virus," She used an eye dropper and delicately placed a drop on the slide. Immediately the red blood cells began to expand and change into mutated forms. Jill and Chris both watched in awe as the cells completely changed themselves.

"Obviously, it's completely altered," Rebecca spoke so matter-of-factly. It was hard to believe she was only eighteen and not an old college professor of some sort. "Now we just have to see what it will look like when we add the antivirus to it."

"Have you not looked at it yourself yet?" Jill asked in disbelief.

Rebecca turned a slight shade of scarlet. "Not exactly," She hesitated. "I followed Alexander's directions, but I had to change things a bit since it was for the Progenitor virus instead of the T-Veronica. I never had time to test the final result on the virus itself. "

"Well, I guess we'll all find out together," Chris put a reassuring hand on Rebecca's shoulder. "Go ahead."

She pulled another vile from her pack and carefully dropped it on the infected slide.

They all held their breath as watched the monitor. At first, nothing happened to the infected cells, but slowly they began to shrink and return to their original shape and color. It had work.

Chris held himself cry out in joy. They made a cure! "Rebecca, you're amazing!" She gave the girl a tight squeeze. Once again her face turned a faint tent of red. "You know what this means don't you?" Chris said in disbelief. "Not only did you create a cure for the T-Veronica virus, this is an open door to curing all of Umbrella's mistakes!"

They might be able to finally cleanse the world of Umbrella's mistakes with Rebecca's creation. The almost endless possibilities ran through Chris' head like they were on a tape recorder. He thought of Manuela and Javier. The little girl could have another chance at a normal life…

"Wait, Chris," Jill said trying to hold back her own excitement. "Yes, we now have an antivirus, but will it flush the virus out of his system completely? If not, would he have to keep the antivirus on him like insulin to a diabetic?"

"That's another reason why I wanted Alexia's slide," Rebecca changed out the slides. "To see if the antivirus would cure her. If it does, then the virus should be out of him for good."

Alexia's blood was similar to Steve's infected blood, but it held a faint shade of green and the blood cells were hardly recognizable. Rebecca delicately scraped some of the blood off the old slide and placed it on a new one. She then dropped a small drop of the antivirus onto the slide. Like Steve's blood, the infection didn't react immediately to the serum. Slowly, the infected cells began to change back into what was once a blood cell, and the green tint began to fade. But unlike the first slide, Alexia's slide began to hiss as if something alive was dying inside the cell and Chris was worried that the sample might jump off the slide. There was even the slightest of smoke rising from beneath the microscope, but whatever infection was living on that slide was now gone.

"Well," Jill carefully approached the smoking slide. "At least we know it works."

"Hopefully it just doesn't kill him in the process." Chris muttered.

"It won't kill him," Rebecca said in almost a whisper. Chris knew smoke was the last thing she was expecting from the slide. "But it's not going to be easy to flush it out of him. He's going to be in a lot of pain."

"It can't be any more pain then what he's already been through." Chris swallowed hard, _Or no more pain then Claire will be in if she loses him again._

A loud ringing broke the silence and once again Chris was forced to dig into the many pockets of his cargo pants to find his cell phone. It was Leon.

"Leon!" Chris said excitedly. "I was just about to call you. We got th—"

"Steve is dead." It was a woman's voice who broke the news.

"What? Who is this?"

"That's not important. The only chance we have at saving him is to initiate the virus and let it take control over this body, then use the antivirus once it's at its full potential. The virus is still active in his body even though he's gone. That's how Wesker brought him back in the first place. We don't have much time so get to the hospital now."

The mysterious woman hung up.

**A/N: So like I said before, this story should be no longer than 20 chapters, so it will be coming to an end soon enough. One more chapter for sure and then an epilogue? Idk yet, but I'll figure it out soon. I can't believe I've been working on this story for nearly a year. It doesn't feel like it's been that long. Anywho. Chapter 18 will be up soon (and fyi, I make A LOT of sexual jokes so that should be something to look forward to. Ahahah.) Review! Please and thanks! :) **


	18. Awakening

**A/N: Hey all. Told you I would upload Chapter 18 sooner than later. This chapter wasn't going to be this short, but I slip it up. I'm pretty sure there's going to be 20 chapters even, which means I might have to move some things around. But anywho. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 18 : Finding Steve**

Claire held her breath, swallowing hard as she tried to hold her tears back. But she knew it was completely useless. She began to sob heavily while holding Steve's still hand. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. Not again. She refused to deal with his death a second time. She had lost him once. She couldn't lose him again. Not this soon. Not now.

Leon and Ada stood silently in the corner of the room. They caught each other's eye for a split second before Ada slipped Leon's cell phone out of his back pocket and left the room.

"Steve," she said in a whisper at first, but when there was no response from his body, not even the slightest twitch of a finger, she began to yell his name. "Steve!" She cried out. "No, no, NO!" She felt like her heart had frozen over, leaving her cold, empty, and lifeless.

"Claire…" Leon placed his hand on her back sympathetically.

"Steve! No!" She sobbed helplessly ignoring Leon completely. "You can't leave me… You can't leave me… "

"Claire, you need to get out of here," Leon gently pulled on her arm. He couldn't see her like this hanging over the kid's body. He was worried she would find some way to kill herself as well. But not only was he worried about Claire's mental state, he was worried about Steve waking up. She thought he was dead when really the virus was about to take control at any moment. Leon knew that if Claire knew that, she would want to stay with him as he changed, and more than likely she would end up dead.

"Steve," She sobbed, holding her face to his. She dragged her lips across the boy's mouth as she cried out his name. She felt as if she had been stabbed in the chest, that she was slowly disappearing herself. Her heart couldn't take this kind of pain yet again.

"Claire," Leon firmly gripped her arm and pulled her away from the body, but she would lunge herself back at his body every time she moved. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. She really was being utterly impossible. Leon knew he would have some more remorse towards the situation if Steve was actually dead, but this was just ridiculously. He had to get Claire out of here so Steve could wake up for good.

"STEVE!" This time she let out a sheer cry of remorse. It was impossible to listen to.

"Claire, we need to move," Without a second thought, Leon overpowered her and threw her over his shoulder.

"Wait - Leon, no," She had finally snapped back to reality for a slip second. "Leon! I can't leave him!"

"We need to get you out of here," Leon was unusually calm considering Steve just "died". Maybe he should try to be more upset for Claire? He just had to keep her under his control until they could get her out of the way and into a safe room.

"Leon! Put me down! I can't leave him. I can't leave him again!" Claire sobbed while she beat her fists into Leon's back.

"Claire, would you please stop?" Leon readjusted the girl on his shoulder, causing her to flop uncomfortably.

The hospital was eerily empty. He found an empty room one floor up where he place Claire on the bed. (And all way up the stairs, she was threatening to throw herself off the staircase if Leon didn't let her go. This made Leon chuckled to himself. She wouldn't be able to throw herself over if he was still holding her.)

"Leon, what are we doing up here?" Claire protested, refusing to sit on the bed. "What's going on?"

"What's going on? Well," Leon locked the door behind him. "You're going to be a good little girl and stay up here until we come get you."

Claire glared at him. Leon couldn't resist the urge to laugh. "What. Is. Going. On?" She demanded. "Steve is dead if you haven't noticed!" The news hit her again like a hurricane and took her breath away. Her blue eyes began to fill with tears.

Leon couldn't take any more of her blubbering. As much as he loved Claire, he wasn't going to comfort her when Steve actually wasn't dead. If she kept this up, Steve would be dead. "Which is why you're staying up here," Somehow he had managed to push her back on the bed and handcuff her to the frame.

"What the hell!"

"Just stay up here until someone comes and gets you, okay?" He gave Claire a pleading smile as he slipped out the door. "Thanks." He slammed it shut with a big smirk on his face.

"Leon Scott Kennedy! I am going to KILL you one of these days!" Claire roared from down the hall.

Leon only shook his head and went to find Ada.

Now with Claire out of the way, she was one less thing they had to worry about. She would have been too hysterical if they kept her where the action would take place. Chris should be arriving any minute with the antivirus. He found Ada standing at Steve's bedside.

"She's tied up upstairs. Hopefully that will keep her out of the way," Leon took his phone back from the dark haired woman.

"Tied up? I didn't know you were into that kind of thing, Leon," Ada smirked.

(Leon's face wasn't the only thing that was turning scarlet.) He rolled his eyes, shaking off the comment.

"Is Chris here yet?" He asked.

She smiled and gestured to the door in front of them. "Right on time."

Three faces appeared in the doorway.

"Someone told me he was dead," Chris said immediately.

"He's not dead," Leon corrected. "Completely."

As much of a relief the news was to Chris, he only cared about one person right now. "Where's Claire?"

"Upstairs," Leon said with a smile. "I wanted her to be out of harm's way." Leon could have sworn he heard her screams of frustration from all the way upstairs, but he thought it might have been his imagination. Chris nodded, resisting the urge to go upstairs, find his sister and comfort her. She must have been doing horribly if she thought he was dead.

"So what's the plan?" Asked the older of the two women. Leon assumed this was Jill Valentine.

"We inject him with the virus, waking him up and activating the virus inside of him, and then we use the antivirus." Ada reported simply. Leon began strapping Steve to the bed with leather straps he found from the psych ward.

"And what happens once he wakes up?" Chris asked. "You haven't seen what that kid can become. It's going to take a lot to keep him under control."

"Hope he doesn't kill us," Leon mumbled under his breath. Ada elbowed him in the gut. "We inject him with the antivirus as soon as we can."

Ada turned to Rebecca. "Are you sure this is going to work? Because if not, we should just let him die before we end up dead."

Rebecca bit her lip in hesitation for a slip second before straitening up. She wasn't going to let this strange woman intimidate her. "No. I'm sure this is going to work."

Her confidence had set a good impression of herself on Ada.

Chris took down at the boy. He was still connected to several monitors. They are read "zero" or "flat". The boy was lifeless on the outside, but his skin was very pale, almost an olive shade of green, and his veins began to pop out from breath the pale surface. He imaged Steve's blood pumping through his veins, the virus about to take over in only a matter of moments, waiting to be released. These weren't signs of rigamortis. Steve was very much alive beneath his skin.

"So are we ready to do this?" Chris asked stepping towards the bed. They all pulled out their handguns and cocked them. Chris smiled to himself. He knew that everyone hear had been through much worse before. Handling a monster was nothing to them.

"Don't kill him, only shoot if you absolutely have to." Chris reminded them all firmly. In other words, only shoot if you or a teammate was about to be killed. They've worked too hard for Steve to die by accident now.

They all positioned themselves around the bed, Jill stood in front of the closed door.

"Chris, you will make the first injection and Rebecca, the second, so be ready," Leon aimed his gun towards Steve. "Let's get this over with so we can all finally move on with our lives." Actually, he was more concerned about getting the kids out of his house since Ada was back in his life.

"Ready?" Chris flicked the needle filled with the T-Virus. He almost felt like a monster himself injecting a poor, innocent soul with this virus, much like those who were a part of Umbrella. He thought of Claire, how happy she would be finally having Steve back in her life for good, without having to worry about the virus running through his veins. As much as he didn't like the kid, he knew that Steve made his sister happy and her happiness was all Chris really cared about.

He glanced over at Jill, thinking about how other than Claire, she was the only person he truly cared about. He wished yet again that someday they could put all this Umbrella commotion behind them and move on with their lives like Leon said.

Jill must have noticed his glanced and nodded with approval as if she was beckoning him on, telling him that everything would be alright.

He took a deep breath before plunging the virus deep inside Steve's chest. Almost immediately, every monitor in the room began to go crazy. Steve heart rate was across the charts and his sudden heavy breathing added to the noise. His body began to change, growing larger, pulling at his restraints. His skin was now a faint shade of green, and spikes from his back and shoulders began to rip through his clothes and into the mattress.

Everyone braced themselves for an attack, watching in horror as Steve transformed, unable to believe that such a small kid could turn into such a monster. But Chris wasn't watching Steve, he only watched Rebecca, worried that she wouldn't be able to do the final task.

Steve's once grey eyes, now red slits, finally opened before he released a horrible roar that echoed throughout the hospital.

**A /N: So I kinda feel like the humor at the beginning of the chapter is out of place almost, but I still crack myself up :P Leon is kinda being a jerk about this whole Steve dying thing. I guess he just wants his apartment back. But a friend of my mine pointed out that he wasn't very upset with Luis died other this his dramatic "LUUUIISSS!" scream. So I figured that he wouldn't be too shaken up about Steve's "death" since he knows Steve isn't dead. Anywho. I hope enjoyed. Chapter 19 will be up as soon as I can write it. Review! Please and thank you :) **


	19. Right Where You Belong

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it took me so long to update. Finals came around and then the holidays so I haven't had much time for writing. Well, I hope everyone had a happy and wonderful Christmas along with a great New Year. I wish everyone the best luck in 2011! But beside that, I hope you enjoy THE LAST CHAPTER of "Finding Steve"**

**Chapter 19 : Finding Steve**

Everything was quiet in Steve's head. _Am I dead?_ He asked himself over and over again, but his answer never came. Do you know if you're dead or do you just roam the world as a ghost, believing that you are still alive? The thought sent a shiver down his spine, so he had to be alive if he could feel the chill.

He could hear muffled voices coming from somewhere distant. Somehow, they sounded familiar.

The last thing he remembered was being in Leon's apartment with Claire, eating breakfast. God, how could he have been so stupid, thinking he could just ignore the virus? It had been fighting him for some time, maybe even before their stay with Leon. The virus was like a drug to his body. He had to have it to survive. The virus in his body was begging for more, begging to be released.

Steve remembered waking up night after night on the fold out couch, asking for Claire to come find him in the darkness, to make the pain disappear, but she never came. Now, he had no idea where he was. He could feel a pinch here and there if he moved, as if a needle was pulling at his skin. The feeling was familiar after spending weeks with Wesker injecting anything he could think of into Steve's body. Was he somehow back in the grasp of Wesker? Claire would never allow that…The air smelt sterile like a hospital. But there was also the feeling of warmth in the air and even the faintest scent in the air that set his body on fire.

Claire.

She had been here. She was near, but not close enough to touch. Where was she? He suddenly began to remember the soft touch of her lips to his face and the wetness from her tears. She thought he was dead. Claire… He had to wake up for her. He couldn't have her feeling any more pain because of him. He had to wake up…

The familiar voices had stopped. Who were they? He could have sworn they kept talking about a Rebecca. Where had he heard that name before? Could that muffled voice belong to Chris? But because he would answer his own questions, he suddenly felt a tight pain in his chest and his hold body went rigid. He screamed in agony as he began to transform into a hideous beast.

"Rebecca! Do it now!" he heard a voice yell. Things sounded much clearer now, as if a fog had just risen from his senses. But this wasn't him. The virus had taken over. His only hope was that everyone would stay out of his way, especially Claire.

Fear fell of Rebecca's face. Chris knew at the moment that she couldn't do it. She was terrorized by the beast in front of her. It was the split second of her hesitation that caused all hell to break loose.

"Jill, Leon! Hold the door!" Chris commanded snatching the anti-virus from Rebecca's trembling hands. "We can't let him get out!"

As Chris began to drive the needle towards the beast, the leather straps that held it in place stretched and snapped like elastic. The beast threw an arm at Chris with a roar and sent Chris crashing into the window.

"Steve, snap out of it! It's me, Leon!" Leon yelled waving his arms around. Jill and Ada braced themselves in front of the door. But the beast didn't recognize the familiar face and pushed past them with ease and broke down the door.

It made a made a mad dash down the hallway at incredible speed despite its weight.

Leon snatched the anti-virus from Chris' mangled body and ran out the door.

"Ada, take the west hall. Jill, find Claire. Make sure she's safe." Leon yelled as he ran down the south hall. "And remember, don't shoot. Use a tranquilizer if you have to, but don't kill him."

"What about you?" Ada cried.

"I'll follow Steve." Leon was already out of sight.

"We have to stop him…." Chris muttered from a pile of broken glass. He felt something warm spreading beneath him. Somehow Rebecca had snapped out of her fear and was already at Chris' side. "We have to keep him away from Claire…"

"Chris, you're bleeding!" Rebecca cried frantically looking for a bandage.

"I'm fine. I have to stop him…" Chris tried to stand but his left leg sent a thick wave of pain through his body. "I have to keep him away from Claire…"

"You've got a huge piece of glass in your leg," Rebecca tried to flip Chris onto his front, away from the glass.

"Then get it out!" Chris yelled impatiently. His head throbbed. He must have smacked his head as well.

"I'm sorry! I'm working as fast as I can," Rebecca cried. Tears were building up in her eyes. "This is going to hurt." As delicately as she could, she pulled the glass from his leg. Chris let out a soft moan of pain, but held his breath otherwise.

Silently, she wrapped up his leg and helped him up.

"Thanks," he muttered holding on to her frail figure to keep himself up. He could walk, but not well. He kept his fingers crossed that his adrenaline would kick in, allowing him to ignore the pain.

From upstairs, Claire could hear the muffled yells and cries from the floor below, along with a single roar.

Steve. He was alive! Happiness rushed over her, but her joy quickly realized that because he was alive, it could only mean one thing: The virus was awake, quickly pumping through his veins. She had to get out of here and stop him. She was the only one who could get him to snap out of it.

She naturally tried the door but it was locked.

"Damn you, Leon," She muttered, heading for the window next. She was at least 4 stories up. She couldn't jump without breaking a leg or two. Maybe if she banged on the door, a doctor would help her out? But she remembered how empty the hospital was before.

She looked around the room for something to break the lock with, but these rooms were designed for patients to stay in, not to get out. She tried smacking it with a metal bedpan, even a chair leg, but nothing worked. She even thought about climbing through the air ducts, but that was so cliché. She was better than that. Then she spotted it in the back corner of the room. Dust had settled on it after years of going unused, but it would hopefully do the trick.

She pulled the fire extinguisher from the wall and sprayed the doorknob with the freezing white foam. When she thought it was cold enough, she began to beat it to death with the canister. Eventually, the lock gave a satisfying pop and fell to the ground with a clatter. But before she could pry the door open, it opened from the outside.

"Jill!" Claire cried out throwing her arms around the other woman. "What's going on? Leon locked me in here right after he told me Steve was dead."

"We need to stay here." Jill pushed herself into the room and closed the door behind her. "You broke the lock?" Jill gestured towards the hole in the door.

"I know he's not dead," Claire ignored the door. "Please tell me what it going on." She begged.

Leon rounded the corner and followed the path of destruction in front of him. Steve wasn't making it very hard for Leon to find him. Maybe Steve wanted to be found so he could change back. Or maybe the beast wanted Leon to find it so it could kill him.

Leon stopped in his tracks and listened hard for heavy breathing. It wasn't near, but the sound wasn't too far off either. He followed the sound and slowly poked his head around the corner to find a green, leathery, spiky back. He pulled back and braced himself against the wall, but amongst the breathing he heard a voice.

"… please put me down. I can't love you unless you put me down." The voice belonged to Ada. "Please put me down, sweetheart, and everything will be better."

Leon stepped out of the shadows. "Ada."

Both Ada and Steve turned their heads, but it wasn't until then did Leon notice that Steve had Ada in his grasp, holding on tight.

"Leon, get out of here," Ada muttered wincing. "If you love me at all, you'll leave right now."

"No," Leon said firmly. "He's going to kill you once he finds out you're not Claire."

Leon turned to Steve. "Steve, put her down. You're going to hurt Claire if you hold on too tight."

Confusing filled Steve's red eyes and his grip on Ada loosened ever so slightly. He could comprehend what Leon was saying, but he had to be careful. Had Steve thought that Ada was Claire this whole time?

"Put Claire down and come with me, Steve, and I'll show you where you can get better." Leon took a step forward only causing Steve to snarl loudly.

"Please put her down, Steve. It's me, Leon. Ste—" Steve let out a roar that filled the entire floor and took off down the hall.

"LEON!" Ada cried. Leon ran after them, holding the anti-virus tightly in his hand. He watched in horror as Steve climbed the narrow stair case at the end of the hall. He couldn't know that the real Claire was up there, but once he reached the top, he would smell her.

Leon backtracked a few steps and darted up the stairs on the opposite end of the hall as Steve. Leon heard a loud roar before he reached the top. He tore the door open just as he saw Claire emerge from her room with Jill close behind.

Leon watched from behind Claire as Steve and Ada stopped dead in their tracks and stared at Claire.

"Steve… It's me. Claire." She said so faintly it was almost a whisper. Jill began to tug on Claire's arm, trying to pull her back into the room, but Claire refused to budge.

Steve's red eyes stared in confusion at Claire at the end of the hall. He looked from Claire to Ada before roaring into Ada's face and throwing her down the hall to his left. But he didn't run towards Claire at full speed, it was Jill.

At that moment, the elevator across the hall from Claire's room opened.

"Jill, move!" Chris yelled from inside the elevator. "He thinks you're trying to hurt her!" Chris made a dramatic dive across the hall and into Jill. The two tumbled into Claire's room as Rebecca quickly followed, slamming the door behind her.

"Steve!" Claire cried again distracting him from his target. Steve stopped in his path like a trained dog. He was breathing heavily though, ready to attack at any moment.

"It's me, baby. Claire," Leon watched as she shuttered from behind, knowing that tears were pouring from her blue eyes. "I love you, Steve. Please come back to me."

Steve shook his head, trying to shake a fog from his mind. He was coming back to her. But he needed to be in full form for him to inject him. He had to do it now.

"Claire, distract him." Leon mumbled softly from behind her before running down the hall to his left. The floor made a full square. If he could just get him from behind… Ada. He found her lying unconscious on the floor, but she was breathing.

"Steve, it's Claire. Everything is going to be alright," She reached out a trembling arm stroke his face. "I love you and you love me. Everything is going to be perfect once you get better."

Leon slowly crept up behind Steve, the anti-virus ready in his hand. Steve was fighting the virus off yet again.

"Steve, I love you. Stay with me."

He threw his head about, trying to silence the virus and the pumping of the blood in his head – until, he heard the faintest noise behind him. Leon swallowed hard as he felt a random glass vile breaking beneath his feet. Steve quickly he turned to face Leon and let out a roar, but his roar was silenced by the syringe now sticking out of his back.

Leon breathed hard as he fell to his knees in disbelief clutching the anti-virus in his hand. If he hadn't injected him with the serum, who had?

Chris fell against the wall for support, catching Leon's eyes with a smile on his face.

Everyone watched in horror as Steve began to shutter violently as he changed back to his normal self, all while he screamed in agony. But the scream didn't belong to him. It was inhuman and coming from deep inside of him. The boy began to foam at the mouth as he shuttered even more violently on the floor. Green vomit poured from his mouth until he finally became still.

"Steve?" Claire reached for his body, tears filling her eyes. "Steve. Wake up, sweetheart."

Claire held Steve close to her. Slowly, the boy's eyes grey eyes began to flutter open. His eyes searched the room as if he was a new born, exploring every detail of his new world until they finally stopped on Claire's face.

"Hey there, beautiful," He said with a weak smile. "Am I dead?"

Claire smiled beneath all her tears. "No, silly. You're right where you belong."

"With you?" He asked.

"With me."

"Good."

**A/N: Okay so this isn't OFFICIALLY the last chapter considering there will be an epilogue up sooner or later (hopefully sooner for both our sakes). I just wanted to thank everyone who kept up with my story for the past year and thanks so much for all your support. I'm sure there will be more fics from me to come, so be on the look out! Please review! :D**


	20. Epilogue

**Finding Steve : Epilogue **

Everyone was huddled into Leon's small apartment with their spirits high. Even Barry had left his family to join in for the fun, just for the night. Pizza boxes and bottles of champagne lined the kitchen counters and every seat in the house was taken.

"Here's to Rebecca," Barry said with his glass raised high. "She may be small, but not only would this mission have been impossible without her, but she's created the first cure to one of Umbrella's nasty diseases. May this be the first of many."

"Rebecca!" Everyone else said in unison while clinking their glasses together. The small girl blushed.

"So Chris, I have to know. How did you manage to inject Steve when I had the anti-virus?" Leon asked putting a foot up on the coffee table.

"Have you ever heard of a backup, Officer Kennedy?" Chris laughed. (Ada smiled at Leon with a mischievous grin on her face. Leon ignored her eyes, only to be fingering the "backup" he had in his pocket for later.) "Rebecca had a duplicate made just in case something went wrong, which it did."

"I'm sorry. It was all my fault," Rebecca said hanging her head. "If I had just injected him right away then – "

"You did good, kid," Chris said patting her on the back. "It's not every day that you see something like that."

"Well, when you work for STARS you do," Barry mumbled to Jill.

"Yeah, I mean, my gorgeous looks would make a girl stop in her tracks," Steve said from the couch. Everyone laughed, but Claire, who was sitting right next to him, squeezed his hand tightly. "But seriously, thanks so much for saving me, Rebecca. I don't know where I would be right now without you."

"Does anyone even know where Wesker ran off to?" Steve asked with a hint of revenge in his voice.

"Oh, who cares, Stevo!" Barry slapped Steve on the shoulder. "That bastard will come back from the dead whether we like it or not, so we might as well enjoy our time while he's not here."

"Agreed." Chris said raising his glass again.

"I second that." Jill smiled.

"And I, third." Ada whispered into Leon's ear. Leon glanced into her dark eyes, past the bandage on her forehead, and to her dark short hair. He no longer cared where she had found out about their mission, he was just happy to have her around until she ran off again. (She was gone by the morning.)

The night carried on with one laugh after the other, and stories from old times. For once, everything was alright in their world and everyone was happy, even if it only last for this one night.

Slowly, everyone settled for the night. Barry was on his way back home to Canada while Rebecca, Claire, and Jill made themselves comfortable in Leon's bedroom, and the boys took over the main room.

When the clock struck three, everyone was fast asleep except for Claire. She climbed out of bed and had her hand over the doorknob right when she stopped herself and turned to Jill. The woman appeared to be asleep on the floor, but with a grin on her face.

"You're not going to tell, Chris, are you?" Claire whispered into the dark.

"I'm sure he already knows," Jill replied fully awake, but kept her eyes closed. "But, no I won't."

Claire slipped out of the room and softly closed the door behind her. The main room was filled with snores coming from one of the two men. Leon was still out with Ada, and Steve lied wide awake on the couch, waiting for Claire to come find him.

A smile immediately filled his face as the two silently headed for the bathroom and closed the door behind them. They left the light off, because the moonlight from the tiny window illuminated the room.

Claire's hands found Steve's chest in the dark and his fingers found her hair.

"How are you feeling?" She asked rubbing her nose against his.

"A lot better now that you're here," he ran his lips across her face and neck, only avoiding her lips.

"I think I've seen you die about three times over the past few months," Claire whispered. "Most girls don't have to see their boyfriend die more than once in an entire life time."

"I guess you're just special then," he smiled in the dark. "It's weird though, because since Rebecca saved me, it's like a huge weight as been lifted from my body since Alexia injected me in the first place. I feel completely amazing now, like I've been reborn or something."

"Well, don't wear yourself out too much. You're still pretty weak."

"I think that the only thing that could wear me out right now is you," He dragged his lips across hers. "And I would be more than happy – even grateful – for you to."

"I think that can be arranged just as long as you promise me one thing," She pulled her hands from his chest and dragged them down to his waistline.

"What's that?" He asked holding his lips not even an inch from her ear.

"Never let me go."

"Whatever you say, beautiful." And with that, he pressed his lips firmly against hers, like he would so many times after.

**THE END**

**A/N: Wow. It's finally over. I hope this epilogue wasn't too short… I thought this story was going to be over three chapters in, then five, and now twenty? Once again, I have to thank all my reviewers for that asking me to continue this story. Hope everyone enjoyed the story. I know I enjoyed writing it. On a side note, Leon and Ada are like total sexatics. I love it XD And it seems like Claire and Steve are going to be just as bad as them. Anywho. I'll be working on "All Hallows Eve" soon enough and maybe adding to "A Resident Evil Christmas" (although I don't know about that one). So keep on the look out and I'll hopefully hear from everyone soon. :D**

**Much love, Mel**


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